Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?
by ringosatou17
Summary: Alfred F. Jones dies after heroically saving a mysterious young man on the street from a van veering off control. That young man grants him a second life, but with one condition: Alfred has to be his servant. Forever. AlfredxBlack!Kiku. Full summary IN.
1. Resurrection

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

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><p><strong>Full Summary<strong>:  
>Princess Resurrection crossover. Ever since 17-year-old Alfred F. Jones's parents died, he was living apart with his twin brother Matthew. Now, Matthew has gotten a new job as the caretaker of an old Japanese house, and tells Alfred to come and stay with him. Finding the house boarded up and apparently empty, Alfred wanders around town looking for Matthew. Instead, he runs into the new resident of the house, and ends up pushing him out of the way of a van that was out-of-control. Unfortunately, Alfred's loses his life in the process. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, the person he saved turned out to be a prince of the Kingdom of the Rising Sun, and he grants Alfred a second life… but only for as long as Alfred will be his servant.<p>

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, Black!Kiku, Android!Herakles, Werewolf!SouthItaly, more crazy characters in the next few chapters

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

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><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Alfred, a seventeen-year-old high school student, dies while heroically saving a mysterious young man on the street from a van veering off control. That young man turns out to be Kiku, his twin brother's new employer, who by resurrecting Alfred makes him Kiku's servant.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH and Princess Resurrection, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

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><p><em><strong>First Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Resurrection<em>

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><p>The hospital morgue was eerily silent, the dead neatly laid on steel beds, their bodies covered and arranged carefully. It was late in the night, and well beyond the hospital's visitor hours.<p>

But a slim young man with jet-black hair and deep dark eyes was inside, wearing a somber black-and-red kimono with a red obi. He is not of the medical staff, but nor was he a visitor accidentally getting lost in the morgue. His steps are quick, purposeful and light, and his face held an expression of amused stoicism.

He made his way around the beds, as if knowing which person was which even without peeking under the cloth covers, and stopped at a certain corpse. The corpse was already cold.

The dark-haired young man acted quickly, nipping at his index finger hard enough to draw Blood. This particular Blood deserves to be capitalized, for it glowed a bright, fiery red. It is evident that this is no ordinary blood.

He then stretched his bitten finger over where he supposed the corpse's mouth should be so that a drop of Blood dribbled on the white cloth covering the body.

The young man smiled slightly and watched the glowing red of his own Blood seep into the covers, and began whispering to the corpse-which-will-soon-be-not-a-corpse.

"_And now I bequeath to thee a second life_."

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><p><em>That is not dead which can eternal lie,<em>  
><em>And with strange eons even death may die.<em>

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><p>That particular morning had been fairly normal for one Alfred F. Jones, a cheerful seventeen-year-old young man with seemingly no serious purpose in mind. He had received a letter from his twin brother Matthew telling him to come to the town where he was currently staying at, that Matt had gotten a job as a caretaker of an old Japanese house in that town, and that they will be living there. Matt had even drawn a map of the place—it was a mansion situated on the top of a hill overlooking the town.<p>

But the moment Alfred had set foot in front of the mansion's gates, he was perplexed. It looked as if no one had lived there for a very long time now—indeed, the house was shut and silent, and the gate was firmly shut. Alfred had puzzled over at this, and wondered if the directions were correct. But this was the only hill in this town, and the only house on that hill.

_Maybe I'll try again tonight or something_, Alfred thought irritably, stomping back down the hill to the town proper. He walked past the shops, exasperated. _Matt, where are you?_

As he was walking, he caught sight of an unusual person—a short, slim young man wearing a black kimono and a red obi and a noticeably darker-skinned man with curly hair and intense green eyes beside him who was carrying some luggage on his hands and a multitude of cats on his shoulders and head. The boy wearing the black kimono looked like a Japanese doll of sorts, his short black hair and big dark eyes adding to the charm. His skin was a luminous milky white, bringing out the depth of his eyes. Alfred found himself staring shamelessly at the delicate young man, but found out that he wasn't the only one. Many people were also shooting curious looks at the young man wearing the kimono, which led to Alfred's concluding that the young man and his evidently cat-obsessed companion is also a newcomer to this town.

_That makes three of us_, he thought. _But why the strange get-up?_

He had no time to wonder any more, because he just realized what was happening next.

A van was coming up the road, and it was doing so erratically. It kept weaving on both sides of the road, until it finally swerved out of control and aimed for the sidewalk.

Alfred suddenly realized that the van was making its way to that mysterious young man wearing a kimono, and seeing that the young man nor his darker-skinned companion wasn't making any effort to avoid the van careening toward their path, his heroic tendencies kicked in and he rushed and shoved them both out of danger. By then, the van was too close for Alfred to avoid it, and the van slammed into him instead and threw him to a considerable distance.

Alfred lay on his back, his breath knocked out of him and a shocking amount of blood seeping to the concrete from his head. His sight was blurry, his glasses having been thrown off his face somewhere during the impact, and his breaths were shallowing. He could hear whispers all around him.

"…_Quick, call an ambulance_!"

"_The boy's not going to last much sooner_…"

And amid the throng of whispering people, Alfred saw a familiar yet blurred face peer down on him.

Those deep dark eyes… And that beautifully black hair… The person he had saved at the cost of his own life.

The delicate young man's lips had opened slightly as if to say something, and he strained his ears to catch the sound of his calm and quiet voice.

"…He makes such a beautiful corpse, Hera-chan…"

_Corpse—?_ Alfred couldn't think straight, but he certainly wondered at that coldblooded statement.

Who is this boy? Such a delicate face and a harsh philosophy… for a boy…

He could still hear shouts in the background, but he ignored them, choosing to watch the dark eyes looking bemusedly at him instead.

"_Hold on_…!"

"_The ambulance is coming_…!"

The wailing sirens of the ambulance filled his ears, and Alfred Jones was dead to the world.

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><p>Night had long fallen before Alfred had opened his eyes blearily. He was wondering at the cloth covering his body. He shoved the cloth off his face, not noticing the stain of the still-red Blood on the area that formerly covered his mouth, and sat up slowly, wondering at the darkness.<p>

_Why is it all dark? I can't see anything…_

_…And wait. Where am I again…?_

Alfred calmly walked out of the silent hospital, not noticing either his barefooted state or the state of his shirt, which was bloodstained all over behind. He wondered why he was in a hospital morgue, but remembered it all again.

_I was here to live with Matt… but that mansion was abandoned… and then I saved that boy from an out-of-control van and it hit me instead…_

He remembered the last words of that eerily beautiful boy before he had blacked out. It creeped him out.

"…_He makes such a beautiful corpse, Hera-chan_…"

Alfred shook his head slowly, then glanced shortsightedly at the house on the hill, which was clearly (or in his case, rather unclearly) seen from his position. Then he did a double-take.

"The lights in the house are all on!" he exclaimed to himself, half-mystified. _What was going on?_

Of course, being Alfred F. Jones, he just had to find out.

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><p>"A Blood contract?"<p>

The kimono-clad young man was sitting in the spacey dining room in the Japanese house on the top of the hill, calmly drinking a cup of green tea and staring expressionlessly at the curly-haired man beside him who was currently crawling with cats.

The curly-haired man nodded serenely. "You gave him… a drop of your Blood… Kiku-sama. You should… make a pact… with him."

Kiku sighed with something like mild amusement. "Hera-chan, don't compare me with those Blood-thirsty Vampires. I may be lacking in Vassals, but I'm certainly not that desperate yet." He sipped from the cup again, savoring the taste of the tea.

"But… why did you… give him a… second life?"

Kiku actually smiled at this. "Exactly, Hera-chan." He laid the cup of tea in front of him and stared into its murky depths. "Only the most distinguished warriors are suited for a Blood contract." His dark eyes narrowed slightly. "To someone we just passed on the street? Impossible."

He then turned his head around and watched the moon out of the window, noticing its fullness. "Maybe I am just that compassionate." Then he lifted a brow slightly. "Hera-chan… it's a full moon tonight…"

"Yes," Herakles answered with a serious frown tugging at his usually serene features. "Don't say…"

Kiku rose from his seat and scowled lightly. "Let's go, Hera-chan… The dogs have sniffed us out."

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><p>The light of the moon illuminated the lawn in front of the mansion, and with it, Kiku can see the hulking form of the Werewolf and the pack of wolves around him. Beside Kiku, Herakles held in his arms an enormous tree trunk torn out from the ground.<p>

"Ah, look who it is, Hera-chan," Kiku said lightly, amusement flitting in his usually emotionless eyes as he held an ornate katana fitted with a black blade in his delicate hands. "A dog mustn't bare its fangs at its master, right…" His eyes blazed suddenly. "…Lovino Vargas?" He ran the tip of his tongue on the flat of his blade, sarcasm dripping. "Who made you do this? Any one of my brothers? Or maybe my sisters?"

Lovino's brown eyes glared at him, furious. Dark brown fur covered his body, making his completely morphed-out form truly awful to behold. "I have nothing else to say to you, Ouji-sama."

He raised an arm, and instantly the wolves attacked from every which way. Herakles whipped his tree trunk from left to right as if it weighed nothing, sending wolves flying away from Kiku's spot.

A wolf found an opening and bit at Herakles's arm, but its fangs didn't even pierce through Herakles's skin. Lovino was enraged.

"So that being is actually an android?" he roared, baring his long fangs. "Attack the prince behind him instead!"

Herakles quickly flung off the wolf on his arm and raised his tree trunk threateningly, but a wolf had rushed under it and leaped straight for Kiku. The prince was eerily prepared, however.

The sickening sound of the black blade slicing through the heart of the wolf pierced the air, and blood splattered everywhere. A dark red drop landed on Kiku's pale cheek, but he didn't even bat an eyelash at this.

"Never underestimate the Royalty, dear Werewolf," he hissed sweetly, a playful smile on his lips. "Now, carnage begins."

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><p>Alfred was walking on his way to the mysterious house on the hill, dog-tired and very disoriented about his day.<p>

_This is crazy, Matt… What the hell is going on at this side of the world? And why did you have to work here of all places…?_

Alfred knew he wasn't getting the answers to any of his questions soon, and the thoughts about that mysterious young man he had saved from the clutches of death began slipping in his mind, confusing him further.

"Why _can't_ I forget that person? Who is he really…?"

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><p>Hundreds of fallen wolves littered the place, Kiku's shallow breathing signaling Herakles that his prince was slowly reaching his limit.<p>

"Are you all right, Kiku-sama…?"

Kiku smiled encouragingly, nodding his head lightly. "Don't worry about me, Hera-chan… I'm in no danger…" Then the smile slipped from his lips, replaced by a slight frown. "But I'm displeased with you, Lovino…"

Lovino didn't reply, his snarl still on place.

Kiku's eyes blazed red, and he raised his black katana at shoulder height. "Aren't you going to attack your master directly? Are you afraid, Lovino Vargas?"

Lovino stayed silent.

Alfred had reached the woods around the old mansion by this time, and had made his way to the clearing where he supposed was the origin of the snarling noises he was hearing.

He was surprised to see in the clearing that same kimono-clad young man holding a sword, and more so when he saw his curly-haired companion wielding an enormous tree trunk as if the tree weighed just as much as a pillow. Alfred was even more shocked when he saw what was before the two of them.

Was that a… werewolf? He checked the sky. Full moon. Perhaps it was a true werewolf… but werewolves do not exist out of tales!

Or do they…?

"You have thrown away your honor, Lovino!" the young man in the kimono was declaring loudly, the sword still raised shoulder-height. "An animal without an honor is nothing more than a filthy beast!"

Meanwhile, Alfred was busy congratulating himself. That boy must live here in this mansion! Luck indeed…

The werewolf ("_Lovino, right_?" Alfred thought) was roaring out in fury, brown eyes widening. "Even if you are a prince… No one insults me and gets out alive!"

"Come, then," Kiku said in a low voice. "Fight me honorably, Lovino!"

Alfred's mind was reeling. That frail guy… can he really fight that Lovino brute all by himself? Much too dangerous… he must find a way to protect that bold person… because that's what heroes do, dude. But something was calling within him to protect the prince… Something that even outweighed his desire to be the hero…

But before he could act upon his impulses, Lovino had lunged toward Kiku. Herakles stepped forward with his tree trunk, but Lovino snapped it in half with just a simple swipe of his paw. Alfred watched in distress at the happenings and wished that he could do something for the prince… anything…

Lovino was almost at the prince, his paw held up to kill Kiku, and Alfred had no choice but to obey the impulses of his blood—

"Ouji-sama—!" Lovino roared out as he went for the kill—

And Alfred suddenly found himself in front of the startled Kiku, arms spread out, braced for the pain—

Lovino was surprised and irritated as his arm punched a hole through Alfred instead, whose mouth immediately gurgled out a lot of blood. Kiku seemed surprised to see him again.

"And you turn up now?" he said in amusement, his dark eyes appraising Alfred as the latter choked out an impossibly large amount of blood.

"Run, get out now!" Alfred managed to say through bouts of coughing.

Lovino was enraged. "You meddling mortal bastard—!"

Lovino flung Alfred away, and turned to face Kiku. But what he found was nothing but Herakles, whose face was mildly impassive.

Lovino knew what was going to happen next.

_Damn, I let my guard down because of that stupid kid—!_

He swiped his paw blindly behind him, but Kiku anticipated it and nimbly dodged, using the momentum to stun Lovino by striking his jaw with the blade of the sword. When Lovino was staggering at the strength of those deceptively fragile arms, Kiku calmly leaped and thrust the sword through his left eye, blood splattering again on Kiku's clothes. Lovino roared out and sank to the ground, blood pooling around his head from the injury.  
>Kiku landed on the ground silently a distance from Lovino, who was dying slowly on the grass.<p>

"Ouji-sama…" Lovino ground out weakly, death overtaking his body as he spoke. "Forgive my transgressions upon your honorable being…"

He choked, and was gone.

Kiku calmly sighed and turned his back on the Werewolf. "Don't underestimate me, Lovino. I know for a fact that your lover was taken hostage by one of my brothers." He started to walk away from Lovino, but Herakles called his attention.

"Aren't you… going to… revive him…?" Herakles asked, confused.

Kiku snorted lightly. "Don't be silly, Hera-chan." He crossed his arms and continued strolling. "It is forbidden among the members of the Royalty to resurrect someone we've killed ourselves." He sighed. "And he died honorably. I think he'd rather stay dead."

Kiku serenely walked over to Alfred, who was still breathing even with the huge hole that Lovino punched through his torso.

"Hello, mortal," he whispered with a smile, crouching down so that Alfred can hear him. "How does it feel to die twice in a single day?"

"I— What—?" Alfred weakly stuttered. The hole was fucking painful. "I can't understand… Before I knew it I was running…"

"Hm." Kiku's smile widened as he listened to Alfred.

Alfred plowed on, ignoring his screaming body. "It's like I've become a whole new person… But…" He tried to flash his trademark smile, but failed to achieve the full effect because of the pain, "…I'm glad you're okay. Really… even if I die over and over again…"

Kiku's eyes narrowed, and his smile disappeared at this sincere statement. He suddenly grabbed the front of Alfred's shirt to pull his face closer to him. Alfred almost thought that Kiku was going to kiss him. "You're lucky, then…" He held his left index finger to his mouth and bit it hard again, the bright red Blood dripping down, and held it out to Alfred's face. "You have the qualities of a true Vassal of the Royalty. You may drink."

Alfred's blue eyes widened. "What?"

Kiku was annoyed, even shaking Alfred by the neck of his shirt. "You still don't get it? I resurrected you after you died because of that van." He held out his Bloodied finger to Alfred's face again. "Come, the effect of my Blood on you is running out. Drink."

Alfred tentatively put out his tongue and received a drop of Blood that was threatening to drip to the ground. Kiku impatiently shoved his whole finger in Alfred's mouth, making the blond blush deeply.

"Listen, mortal. My name is Kiku Honda," Kiku said quietly as Alfred finished lapping up the Blood. "I am the second son of the Queen that rules over the Kingdom of the Rising Sun. The Kingdom of strange creatures that every sane person thinks are just myths."

Alfred opened his mouth, and Kiku slipped his finger out.

"Anyone who drinks of my family's Blood become nearly immortal," Kiku continued, a slightly amused smile dominating his lips again. "However, you must drink it again after a few days. Or the Blood will lose its effect, and you will die." His smile became unbearably sweet. "So I suggest that you serve me faithfully for the rest of your life…"

Alfred's eyes bulged. "W-WHAT?"

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><p><strong>AN: Back from the plot bunny grave, eh? Did you enjoy the pilot chapter of my new fan fiction? Review and tell me what you think.**

**Next chapters will introduce more of the characters. And I made all of the Asians Black. It's more fitting for this story.**

**And of course, in this story, you get to know how sadistic and skilled Black!Kiku is with various gory weapons. Teehee.**

**Is AlfredxBlack!Kiku a crack pairing?**

**Sorry for the readers of The Diary of the Otaku Me, I had a writer's block because of school. So I'll put that story at a temporary HIATUS warning first. I'll not discontinue it, don't worry. But I'll concentrate on this story first. Can't resist not uploading it.**

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: With the effects of Kiku's Blood fading and needing restoration, Alfred slowly comes to realize that he has no choice but to be involved with Kiku. As an invisible seven-tailed kitsune enters the house to assassinate Kiku, he goes wild with a chainsaw chasing the intruder, and eventually even sets the house on fire.


	2. Destruction

_**Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?**__  
>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

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><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Alfred, a seventeen-year-old high school student, dies while heroically saving a mysterious young man on the street from a van veering off control. That young man turns out to be Kiku, his twin brother's new employer, who by resurrecting Alfred makes him Kiku's servant.<p>

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, _Gore_, Black!Kiku, and more crazy characters in the next few chapters

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

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><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: With the effects of Kiku's Blood fading and needing restoration, Alfred slowly comes to realize that he has no choice but to be involved with Kiku. As an invisible seven-tailed kitsune enters the house to assassinate Kiku, he goes wild with a chainsaw chasing the intruder, and eventually even sets the house on fire.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

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><p><em><strong>Second Drop of Blood<strong>__:  
>Destruction<em>

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><p>"Class, meet your new classmate. His name is Alfred F. Jones, and he's just recently moved here. Anyways, Alfred, please take your seat. There, next to the window beside Arthur's seat."<p>

Alfred gratefully took his assigned seat, noticing the guy named Arthur turn toward him to flash a curious look and a friendly smile. Blushing, he looked down at his desk and tried to ignore the bewitching green eyes staring at him.

"Alfred Jones, right?" the guy finally spoke up, making Alfred look at him curiously. Arthur held out a hand. "I'm Arthur Kirkland. Student Council president. I'd be happy to show you all over the campus later at lunch break, if you like."

"Um, you're British, are you?" Alfred asked, taking Arthur's hand and shaking it chummily. "Er, and nice to meet you."

Arthur smiled widely, showing two rows of perfectly straight teeth. Alfred blinked at him stupidly, mesmerized. "I _am_ British, in fact. Nice guess. Or was my accent that obvious?"

"Um, yeah, a bit." Alfred returned his smile nervously. "Uh, and I'd like a tour around the campus, also. Thanks for the offer."

"No problem." Arthur chuckled, a mysterious smile coming over his lips. "It's my duty, after all."

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><p>Alfred returned home that afternoon with a completely satisfied feeling about his day. Arthur seemed like a nice guy, and so far, he surmised that no one will be going to pick on him for the next few days.<p>

All in all, he was relieved that his first day in a new school hadn't been a failure of some sort. He entered the lawn beyond the front gate and stared at the house itself. It had been yesterday when he started living in this infernal building, and it was also yesterday when he'd been acquainted with its new resident, an extremely eccentric young man named Kiku Honda, and became his Vassal.

So far, he had made three observations about his extraordinary employer. One, that Kiku is extremely used to violence, and is not hesitant to use it in any form when required; Two, that Kiku is an extremely aristocratic person, and that due to his aristocratic nature, he is not afraid to make the three of them (Alfred, Matthew, and Herakles), as his servants, work extra hard; and Three, that Kiku is an extremely polite person that used an honorific with everyone in the house except Alfred. Because out of his staff which consisted of only three servants, Alfred is his sole Vassal.

There is only one word common in all of those observations. And that is the fact that whatever Kiku's characteristics are, they all bordered on the extreme. Not one thing was ordinary about him.

"I'm home," he called loudly as he stepped inside the entrance hall and removed his shoes to put on the shelf. Then he noticed something amiss as he looked carefully around the house.

The inside of the house looked as if someone went on a literal rampage—the shoji that were used to partition the rooms were utterly destroyed, the potted plants that decorated the place were all smashed into pieces, and even the wooden walls bore signs of mutilation. There were large cut marks on the walls like the claws of some beast, except that they come in singles. The marks extended to the wooden floor, and Alfred was already wondering what the hell happened to the house while he was at school.

He proceeded on the way to his room and looked at the mutilated hallways until he heard what sounded like Kiku yelling something and Herakles replying just as loudly. Alfred frowned, and noted that he didn't even know that those two could speak above the normal calm voice. He figured that it would only have been caused by a very serious matter, so he rushed to the room where he heard the yelling and wrenched the partially-destroyed shoji open.

The next thing he remembered having seen before blacking out was a shocked and large-eyed Kiku holding a roaring chainsaw in his pale hands and accidentally bringing the jagged teeth on Alfred's stomach.

He felt a great amount of blood spurt out of him, and he was lost.

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><p>Alfred finally came to and found that he was lying on the floor of the dining room. Kneeling on one side of the square table was Kiku, still wearing a black kimono but now with gold accents, sipping green tea delicately as if drinking a cup of tea was more important than Alfred's wellbeing. Then, remembering the chainsaw incident, he instinctively felt for the wound on his stomach, finding nothing but smooth skin, albeit his shirt was ripped on that part and there was blood on the edges.<p>

"I'm not hurt?"

The childish question fell out of his lips before he could control himself, and Kiku sighed with an exasperated look in his eyes.

"You've been killed for three times already since yesterday, but you can't still jump on the program?" he asked sarcastically. "How slow can you get?"

"So it's really true?" Alfred persisted, standing up and examining his body for any more wounds that he might have overlooked. "I'm… nearly immortal?"

Kiku merely nodded and finished off his tea, placing the cup back on the table and standing up. Herakles placed the tray he was holding on the table and Kiku grabbed the chainsaw, which was actually placed beside him on the floor. Alfred's eyes bulged when he saw the chainsaw again. It still bore the marks of his blood on it.

"Back to killing the intruder, Hera-chan," Kiku declared sweetly without even bothering to conceal the really bloodthirsty expression on his usually stoic face. Alfred gulped. He was beginning to learn that this guy knew no boundaries when it came to his enemies.

"Intruder?" Alfred asked nervously.

"An invisible kitsune," Kiku replied without even batting an eyelid as he started off the chainsaw motor, its roaring sound making the blond sweat-drop.

"I-_invisible_—?"

Just then, they heard the front door slide open and close, and a timid voice called out, "I'm home!"

"There!" Kiku declared loudly without even listening carefully and made as if to rush out, but Alfred realized who it was and screeched, "NO!"

Kiku glared at Alfred. "Why not?"

"That's not the intruder! That's my twin bro!" Alfred said hastily, holding up his hands in front of him in the "stop!" gesture.

Kiku stared at him with a puzzled look in his face. "Who?"

"Matthew! My twin Matt! The one who cooks your meals and—! Oh, never mind," Alfred groaned, palming his face. Maybe he should have expected it. What with Matt's tendency since childhood to be always overlooked. "Just don't go out yet with that thing or you're going to scar Matt's life forever!"

Kiku rolled his eyes and held up the chainsaw. "Then go and… get him out or what. I won't be able to resurrect him if I accidentally lash out at him."

"Good idea, Ouji-sama," Alfred gasped, preparing to run out, but Kiku held up a slender hand.

"I told you, my name is Kiku." Kiku sighed. "I don't need such formalities."

"Okay," Alfred answered without listening, already running out.

Kiku smirked at Herakles as the door slammed behind Alfred. "He's such a reckless guy, you know? I wouldn't be surprised if he kills himself a few more times today because of that stupid hero antics of his."

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><p>Matthew was looking around at the destruction in the house, looking really perplexed. He held bags of groceries on his arms, surveying the damage.<br>"What on earth—?" he muttered softly, worry plastered on his features.

Just then, Alfred rushed down on the stairs.

"Mattie! Don't look! Don't look!"

Matthew glanced up at his twin, puzzled. "Al, what happened? This place looked like it was torn up by the dogs! Did you do this? The owner of the house'll kill me! I'm supposed to be the caretaker of the house!"

He might just really kill you if you stay inside, Alfred thought sarcastically, but what he yelled was, "Matt, just get out! It's too dangerous!"

"What's dangerous?" Matt asked frantically, but Alfred took the groceries out of his arms and ushered him out the door. "Al—!"

There was a slamming sound as Alfred closed the doors on Matt's face and locked them with the bolts. "Um, Ouji-sama is a little crazy right now, and… well…" He couldn't say what happened to him last night now, could he? He settled for a hasty "Sorry Mattie, but Ouji-sama's calling me!" before rushing to put the groceries in the kitchen and run to Kiku's side.

Matt banged on the door. "Al! Lemme in!"

"Alfred! Where are you?" Kiku was indeed calling him, so Alfred felt that he was justified.

"I'm coming now!" he yelled back, but before he could set another step, he felt something thin catch around his ankle and slice him deeply. He tripped, sending him sprawling on the floor, and looked back at the thin string, which was dripping with his blood. Alfred saw with a gasp that it had severed his left foot, which was still standing beneath the string. Now that it had his blood on it, Alfred could see it pretty clearly.

Fuck, he thought, looking at the stump of his left leg which was oozing with blood.

"That was what I was looking for," a highly amused voice said suddenly behind him, and Alfred turned to see Kiku raise his chainsaw and cut the string into two. Alfred watched as Kiku swung the chainsaw as gracefully as he wielded the katana last night.

"What was that just now?" Alfred asked feebly, as Herakles helpfully put his foot back onto his leg. He felt like fainting as he watched the process.

"Invisible thread made from fox fire. The intruder's favorite weapon," Kiku replied, looking all around. "They're set up all over the house, so better be careful." He looked back at Alfred with a devious smirk as Herakles finished restoring Alfred's leg back to normalcy. "By the way, surely you didn't think that I was swinging a chainsaw around with no particular reason at all, did you?"

* * *

><p>It was getting darker now, and the gloom of the old house manifested itself as Alfred walked around the mansion while swinging a kitchen knife around before him. The halls were slowly getting creepier by the second as the sun set, but Alfred, who had a secret fear of ghosts, had his thoughts on entirely different matters as he walked around with the knife.<p>

_An invisible kitsune… Is he really real? Or was Kiku pulling my leg…? And if he is true, why would he target us? Of all people?_

Just then, he felt a string cut gently against his neck, making him stop dead on his tracks.

_…? There's someone behind me! I can feel it!_

Alfred was panicking inside, but he forced himself to keep calm.

_I'm nearly immortal, but what if my head is severed? What to do?_

He slowly turned his face to look at the wall to see if there was anyone behind him, his blue eyes defiant and creeped out, expecting something… but there was no shadow behind his own.

_No shadow? Ah shit…!_

Little did he know that Herakles was already peeping out of an adjoining corridor, using the heat sensors installed in his eyes to see the invisible kitsune behind Alfred.

_There_.

Herakles threw his knife, disregarding Alfred who was standing between them. The knife sliced the side of Alfred's neck before whizzing past and latching itself on the leg of the invisible creature, making blood spurt out of him. Alfred was shocked out of his wits as he felt blood bursting out of the wound on his neck. The cut Herakles made on both of them was rather deep.

Alfred's eyes were wide as he became dizzy because of excessive blood loss. He sank to his knees.

_There really is an invisible kitsune…! I just saw his form…!_

"There!"

Alfred heard the screech and saw Kiku in his magnificent black-and-gold kimono, the chainsaw held high as he prepared to kill the intruder.

"I'll split you in two!" Kiku declared with an almost crazed grin as he began bringing down the chainsaw. Alfred finally collapsed, feeling the air from the chainsaw blade graze his nape.

Suddenly, Herakles darted forward and held the jagged blades in his bare hands, stopping Kiku's progress.

"Don't get in my way, Hera-chan!" Kiku growled, as the chainsaw failed to make even a scratch on the android's palms.

"He's… not there… anymore…" Herakles said, shaking his head slowly. "But… I wounded him… in the leg… That should… reduce his… mobility…"

Kiku's dark eyes narrowed as he smiled evilly. "Good job, Hera-chan." He sighed. "You sure are well-made for an android."

Meanwhile, Alfred lay on the floor, trying to make a sound but failing.

_There really is… an invisible kitsune… and no one is even bothering to help me…!_

_Matt, help…!_

* * *

><p>Matthew was sitting in the local café, finishing up a tall glass of chocolate sundae and watching the sunset out of the window, when he felt an anxious sensation grip his heart. It was an irrational fear or some such, but he couldn't help but feel worried.<p>

_Alfred's been acting strange today… And what's with this strange sensation…?_

_Is Alfred in danger or something…?_

The owner of the café was behind the bar, polishing the glasses and watching Matthew as the latter looked worried.

"Anything the matter?" he called out to the blond.

Matthew broke out of his reverie and smiled reassuringly at him. "Ah, it was nothing!" he said quickly. "Um, I'd like to have another chocolate sundae…"

"One choco sundae comin' up, then," the barman said cheerfully, getting to work.

* * *

><p>Night fell eerily on the house, and Alfred finally rose from his face-planting position, groaning as he felt his skin sticky with blood and sweat. He felt the side of his neck. It was healed.<p>

He looked around curiously, noticing that he wasn't in the hallway anymore. From the dim light filtering in through the window, he could see that he was in… the kitchen, perhaps? There was a line of pots and pans around the wall and the table where he dumped the groceries earlier.

Just then, a strange smell came to his nostrils, making him wonder.

"It smells like gasoline… or something…" he muttered, when a pair of arms snaked around his chest and a hand suddenly clamped over his mouth from behind. It did not help when he felt a soft breath fanning on his ear. He tried not to panic.

"So you're awake already?" It was Kiku's voice, making Alfred almost cry out in relief. As if Kiku had expected it, he pressed his hand more tightly over Alfred's mouth. "Stop speaking. Whisper. Or else you'll ruin my plan." He released Alfred's mouth, and the first thing Alfred did was to sigh gratefully

"Ouji-sa—"

"Again?"

"I mean, uh, Kiku…"

"That's better."

"What—?"

"I smashed the circuit breaker. So the lights won't work."

"Huh?"

"It's an equal footing now. We can't see him, he can't see us. I was waiting for the dark."

"Oh, I see…" Alfred sniffed the air. He wasn't sure if it was really gasoline—but the smell was getting heavier. "But what's this smell?"

He could feel Kiku smile—or was it smirk?—against his shoulder. "That's just for insurance. Don't worry about it."

Alfred's head snapped around and stared at where he presumed Kiku's face was. "That's crazy!" he hissed in a low voice. "This has nothing to do with me! I'm getting out!" He tore himself from Kiku's clutches and stood up, looking around at the dark.

He could feel Kiku standing up too, and tensed for an attack from the prince. But Kiku only crossed his arms and said calmly, "Then go and pray for my life. Unlike you, I'm not immortal. Not even nearly one." He paused to let the words sink in Alfred's mind. "And you've already died twice today. The effect of my Blood on you is nearly gone. And with it your immortality." Alfred's senses were on hyperactive alert as he felt Kiku walking toward him. "If I die, there'd be no one to revive you. Such is the fate of a Blood warrior." Kiku's eyes gleamed slyly in the dark. "Of course, if I do survive, I wonder if I'll let a coward like yourself drink my Blood?"

Alfred was wide-eyed after listening to Kiku's statement. "Then why?" he said in a low voice. "Why go so far?"

"My first sister was killed by the invisible kitsune," Kiku said shortly, his eyes darkening. "It's kill or be killed. Now do you understand?"

Alfred was stunned by the sudden revelation, but had no time to dwell on it longer. A large stone suddenly soared through the window, breaking the glass and showering them with the pieces. Kiku and Alfred instantly ducked. Alfred could distinctly hear Kiku swear under his breath.

"Is he outside?" Alfred whispered.

"Well…" Kiku slowly straightened up, and picked up the chainsaw innocently lying on the floor.

Then Alfred heard a soft noise. A soft, stealthy noise. He froze, standing up against the wall, and glanced at the dark hallway, unable to speak.

_He distracted us with the window so that he can slip in!_

_And Kiku… has he noticed that yet…?_

Alfred was remembering Kiku's words earlier. He felt lightheaded.

_"…You've already died twice today. The effect of my Blood on you is nearly gone. And with it your immortality…"_

Alfred suddenly felt his body screaming out again to protect the prince. Danger was lurking…

…and he instinctively grabbed the thread that was about to cut into Kiku's neck.

Blood spilled as the thread cut into Alfred's skin, but he spun around, feeling the closeness of the invisible being behind him. He reached out blindly with a hand, and grabbed the invisible kitsune's pointed face.

Kiku immediately realized what was happening and smirked as he turned the chainsaw on.

"Good job, Alfred!" he snarled, about to attack, but stopped short when he realized that the fine threads were wrapping themselves on Alfred's arm, cutting through the skin and making blood spill out.

"Quick, Kiku!" Alfred screamed. "While I can still hold him!"

Kiku swung the chainsaw around at the same time Alfred slumped forward, feeling a short shock run up his arm as the weapon made contact with the intruder, and then free air again. He saw the streaks of blood on the floor and smiled widely.

"I got you!"

Kiku glanced at Alfred, who was unconscious, and called out, "Hera-chan!"

Herakles flitted into the room and looked around at the mess.

Kiku sighed. "We're leaving the house. Take Alfred outside!"

Herakles nodded mutely and slung Alfred over his shoulder. He made for the sliding door, smashing his way out. Kiku promptly followed, managing not to tear his long silk sleeves on the splintered wood as he carried the chainsaw with him.

Kiku smiled calmly as he took out a lighter from his obi, flicked it on, and gazed at the house forlornly. "My father's house… a pity." He threw the lighter inside through the broken sliding door, and watched amusedly as flames burst in the house, spreading from room to room, until the whole house was brightly burning.

Prince and android watched the spectacle, Kiku's mild eyes turning red as the fire reflected off his dark pupils.

A little distance behind them, Alfred was slowly waking up, his eyes catching sight of the burning house. He blearily muttered, "This looks like the ending of some kind of survival horror game that I usually play…"

Kiku raised the chainsaw once again. Alfred wondered why, but then he saw the burning figure running out of the house. A fox with seven tails was clearly outlined now from the flames covering his entire being.

Kiku smirked. "I can see you," he said quietly. "I can see ALL OF YOU!"

He swung the roaring chainsaw on the burning figure, and Alfred saw red as blood splattered everywhere.

* * *

><p>Alfred could hear the wailing sound of the firetruck as he lay on the front lawn, the grass gently pricking his back wherever his skin was exposed. Kiku was standing beside him, his right sleeve carefully kept out of the way as he held out his right hand over Alfred's face and dripped Blood on Alfred's half-open mouth.<p>

"Did you get your sister's killer…?" Alfred mumbled.

Kiku shrugged nonchalantly, drawing his hand away. Alfred watched stray drops of Blood drip on the grass and glow brightly. "Maybe, maybe not." He sighed and turned his head toward the mansion. "In any case, I know that the one who sent that after me is one of my siblings. I just don't know which one of them."

Alfred scowled slightly, still a bit disoriented. "Your siblings…?"

He heard someone running toward them, and Alfred wondered who it was until he heard Matthew's frantic voice.

"Ah! The house! Ouji-sama—?"

Kiku calmly regarded Matt. "The fire was a little bigger than I thought…" he remarked. Alfred grimaced.

"But my job—?"

* * *

><p>Kiku's three servants spent the next day helping in the construction men hired to do the repairs on the house. Alfred was dog tired at all the work, and so was Matt, but Herakles impressed them by working as fast and efficiently as when he had first started. Alfred knew that he was an android, but that didn't help his thoughts.<p>

He glanced behind at Kiku, who was calmly sitting under the shade of a maple tree and sipping from a cup of green tea. He looked maddeningly calm to Alfred, who sighed in defeat and continued his work when Matt scolded him for slacking off.

"Don't you slack off, Al! We have to finish the house immediately or I won't have a job!"

If Alfred had gained anything from the events of the day before, it was two facts: that if he chose to stay with Kiku Honda, no amount of lives will be enough, but if he doesn't stay with the prince, he would have no life at all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Chainsaws Rock! I love picturing Black!Kiku with a chainsaw while wearing that black kimono~!**

**Review, won't you guys? Tell me all your suspicions about the future of the story and stuff~  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Half-Werewolf Antonio Carriedo, the lover of the werewolf Lovino Vargas who was killed by Kiku, comes to claim his revenge. But he does not yet realize that he himself was used as a chess piece to make Lovino betray Kiku.


	3. Rampage

_**Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?**__  
><em>_(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)__  
><em>

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><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>With the effects of Kiku's Blood fading and needing restoration, Alfred slowly comes to realize that he has no choice but to be involved with Kiku. As an invisible seven-tailed kitsune enters the house to assassinate Kiku, he goes wild with a chainsaw chasing the intruder, and eventually even sets the house on fire.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, HalfWerewolf!Antonio, Black!Kiku, and more crazy characters in the next few chapters

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Half-Werewolf Antonio Carriedo, the lover of the werewolf Lovino Vargas who was killed by Kiku, comes to claim his revenge. But he does not yet realize that he himself was used as a chess piece to make Lovino betray Kiku.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Third Drop of Blood<strong>__:__  
><em>_Rampage_

* * *

><p>Alfred was walking home from school, and as usual, he felt like tearing up from all the schoolwork. He was beginning to get into fights with his other male classmates, and he didn't like that one single bit. Alfred was not that fond of fighting, and he'd rather things were talked through rather than settled with fists.<p>

He was trudging up the road that led up the hill to Kiku's residence when he heard a faint yipping. He rushed to find out what was making such a noise and saw that it was a small white dog, probably an Akita or something. It ceased yipping and began barking madly when it heard Alfred's running footsteps. Alfred picked the dog up and grinned at it. Maybe Kiku'll allow him to keep a dog? With the right wheedling, Kiku will surely allow his request. It was getting a little too silent in the house any way…

He continued walking, too absorbed in his thoughts about the day that he failed to hear the shout.

"_Oy_! Out of my way! She's gonna lose her control!"

The motorcycle collided hard with Alfred, sending him sprawling on the road. The rider had jumped at the last second and had ended up picking himself from the side of the road.

"_Dios mio_," the rider of the motorcycle muttered to himself as he surveyed the motorcycle. The engine wasn't broken, but the lights were. "Oy, kiddo. The one with the glasses!"

Alfred stared at the rider as the latter took off his helmet, revealing a good-natured face with bright green eyes and a bright smile. Alfred guessed that this man must have lived somewhere in the Mediterranean or else in the tropics, since his skin was a healthy shade of tan.

"Not hurt, are ya?" the stranger said worriedly, kneeling down and examining Alfred closely.

"Um, just some scrapes," Alfred replied, examining his elbows, which were scraped clean of skin. The stranger whistled at the sight of the wounds and smiled apologetically.

"Eh, sorry 'bout that. If you'd just listened to my warning maybe you'd walked away without a scratch." The stranger raised his eyebrows cheerfully. "Want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No… um, it'll be fine soon anyway…" Alfred muttered, watching as the wounds began to heal quickly. The stranger's green eyes darkened at the sight.

"Tell me," the stranger growled suddenly, startling Alfred. "Are you a Blood warrior?"

* * *

><p>Kiku finished his afternoon tea with a sigh, remarking, "Not enough."<p>

Matthew, who was kneeling beside him, remarked nervously, "Oh? Then maybe I should bring you some more…"

Kiku smiled indulgently at him. "Not you, Matthew-san. The serving you've actually given me today was more than enough." He sighed and wiped his lips delicately with the cloth napkin on the tray, the sleeves of his black-and-purple kimono drooping gracefully at his sides. "What I meant was that I have not enough servants." He glanced at Herakles, who was dozing opposite to him at the table, then back to Matthew's violet eyes.

"Are we three not enough?" Matthew asked.

"That's not it," Kiku sighed again. "I used to have a personal guard in the past because of my status as a prince… but now I have no one to protect me except my Hera-chan and the very reckless Alfred Jones." He smiled bitterly. "How low I have fallen!"

Matthew frowned thoughtfully, silently picking up the tea things and proceeding to the kitchen.

"Oh, and Matthew-san, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"You make really good tea."

"Oh! Thank you."

* * *

><p>Alfred's eyes widened as the stranger's arms transformed into huge paws with sharp inch-long claws and pick him up by the collar of his shirt.<p>

_Shit_.

Alfred knew that he should have suspected immediately that this person is not what you can call normal. After all, Kiku isn't what you'd call normal himself, so of course you couldn't say that he receives normal visitors.

"You are a Blood warrior, right?" the stranger roared. "Lead me to your master!"

Alfred clutched the little white dog he had picked up earlier and winced. This one might just be another assassin sent out by one of Kiku's siblings to kill the prince…

* * *

><p>"Kiku-sama…"<p>

Kiku turned around to see Herakles holding a dead cat in his hands and looking particularly sad and determined.

"Why are you bringing that cat to me?" Kiku asked suspiciously, glaring at Herakles with dark eyes. "Surely you're not asking me to resurrect that cat of yours?"

Herakles nodded once.

Kiku sighed and waved him away. "Hera-chan, I know that you love that cat and I know I need more Vassals, but by the Blood of the Golden Chrysanthemum, don't make me resurrect a cat so that it can be a Blood warrior. Yao-nii-sama'll laugh at me."

* * *

><p><em>So the member of the Royalty that killed my Lovi is in that mansion… I'm in luck…<em>

The green-eyed stranger that Alfred met was speeding to the mansion on his motorcycle, his eyes dark with anger. _Just wait… Lovi's murderer…_

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Alfred was continuing his way to the mansion, remembering his conversation with the stranger before he left on the motorcycle.<p>

_"…Don't go near that mansion! It's dangerous!"_ the stranger had warned him, putting his helmet back on.

_"…But why are you…?"_

The stranger set the motorcycle upright and slung a leg over it. _"You're a good guy. I could feel it. So don't get yourself involved."_ He gunned the engine to life and took off, leaving Alfred choking on his dust.

Alfred had been running since the end of that conversation, determined to rush to Kiku's aid. He didn't know why he desired to protect Kiku, but maybe it was Kiku's Blood inside him crying out for him to go and save his master…

_Ah! I don't really understand! But I have to go!__  
><em>

* * *

><p>Kiku was surprised when a motorcycle practically tore down his front door, since he was standing on the entrance hall when the green-eyed stranger that Alfred met earlier entered the house in that manner. The motorcycle skidded a bit past him before coming to a complete halt, marking the perfectly clean floorboards with dirt.<p>

The stranger took off his helmet and flung it on the motorcycle, green eyes full of unbridled rage as his tanned arms transformed into the paws of a Werewolf. He bared his teeth to Kiku, his canines growing and forming sharp fangs.

"I've finally found you, my little Lovi's murderer!" he roared out, flexing his arms and claws threateningly. "My name is Antonio Carriedo! And I come to avenge Lovino Vargas, who was betrayed by his filthy master!"

Kiku suddenly grabbed the ax that hung on the wall behind him, smirking. "Oh! So you are that Antonio?" He swung the ax playfully side to side, dark eyes traveling on Antonio's face almost hungrily. "He mentioned you to me in the past. Half-Werewolf, half-mortal… an unusual kind…"

"That's right," Antonio snarled, lunging forward. "Tell me! What dirty trick have you used to kill him?"

"I fought him fair and square, Antonio," Kiku replied calmly, preparing to swing the ax and meet Antonio's strike. "I won fairly."

"Lies—!" Antonio roared, bringing down his paw on Kiku's face, but Kiku lazily parried the blow with the handle of his ax. "Don't give me that crap—!"

Kiku staggered back at the might of Antonio's brute strength, and swung his ax back to chop at Antonio. Antonio dodged, and the blade of the ax missed and buried itself on the floor.

Kiku cursed as he tried to pull the ax out before Antonio can attack, but Antonio had already bounded forward and struck at him with a mighty paw. Kiku quickly intercepted the blow with the handle of the ax again, but Antonio's strength threw him against the wall, his breath knocked out by the impact.

"Weak…" Antonio growled with a smile, green eyes widening with triumph. "I've heard that the members of the Royalty who had not yet reached adulthood were just as weak as humans… Looks like the rumors are true…" He walked up to Kiku's fallen form slowly, smile replaced by a murderous snarl. "With that in mind, there's just no way that you have destroyed my Lovi in fair combat!" He cocked his head thoughtfully, as if considering something before saying, "Stand up! I will avenge Lovino Vargas's dishonor!"

Kiku let out a low laugh and looked directly into Antonio's eyes, calm brown meeting furious green. "Ah… that's impossible…"

Antonio let out an enraged roar. "Shut up—!" He darted forward, claws raised and ready to maul Kiku's face—

—When a distraction arrived in the shape of a large truck smashing its way in the house through the front wall.

Antonio glared irritably in the direction of the truck, his paw still raised.

Kiku stood up with an amused expression as he saw Herakles sitting in the driver seat, face sleepy as usual as he reversed the gears and drove the truck backwards for a distance before driving it back in the house again. With an enraged noise, Antonio dodged away before the truck could crush him against something.

He mounted his motorcycle again, shooting an angry glance at Kiku. "That's fucking _cheating_!"

Kiku laughed mirthlessly. "Cheating? Who said I have to fight you fairly? And you are trespassing in my home, after all. It's quite within my rights."

Antonio gunned the engine on and rushed off, screaming, "Stop screwing around!"

Kiku leaped into the passenger seat of the truck beside Herakles. "Hera-chan, don't let him get away." His eyes narrowed. "He needs to be punished thoroughly."

* * *

><p>Alfred finally burst through the front gate and streaked through the lawn. He paused to catch his breath, and was startled to see the big hole caused by Herakles's truck.<p>

"Let me guess…" he muttered as the little white dog in his arms yipped happily and jumped from his arms to run around the yard. "I'm already too late, right…?"

* * *

><p>Antonio's motorcycle roared through the woods behind Kiku's house, cursing whenever a stray branch whipped him across the face. He looked back breathlessly to see the truck keeping up with him effortlessly, leaving destruction in its wake.<p>

Antonio cursed again and willed the motorcycle to run faster, the untamed path through the forest jolting him every other minute.

He looked back again to see Kiku's upper body protruding through the window at the passenger side, smiling gently as he held the scope of a sniping rifle to his eye. "Hunting time, wolf!" Kiku called in a sweet voice as he shot. Antonio drove erratically, hoping to confuse Kiku.

Another shot sounded in the air. Antonio cursed and yelled over his shoulder, "Is this how you killed Lovi?"

"You are a glutton for punishment," Kiku called back, pulling the trigger and shooting some branches above Antonio.

Hearing the shot, Antonio growled and screamed, "Punishment? Don't mess with me!"

"Such a child…" Kiku muttered under his breath. He held the scope to his eye again and called out to Antonio tauntingly. "You don't even know the details, my dear Antonio. You are desecrating your lover's death if you insist on continuing this madness!"

Antonio was stunned by this statement and suddenly braked, his motorcycle skidding in a wide arc before stopping right in the path of the truck. Kiku's eyes widened, and an "Oh?" slipped from his lips.

"What did you say," Antonio said quietly, darkly. Then something inside him snapped, and his arms transformed into the monstrous paws again before roaring out, "_What the hell did you just say_!"

"Pay no attention, dear Hera-chan," Kiku ordered, putting his gun down. "Ram him!"

Antonio merely held out his arms and received the truck's full speed with an almighty war cry. Because of the mighty force, the truck tilted on its driver side and threatened to fall down. Kiku kept his balance gracefully, kimono sleeves fluttering, as Antonio slammed the truck on its side, the shock of the crash shaking the earth.

Antonio grabbed Kiku by the neck of his black kimono and dragged him outside, green eyes furious and agonized. He dropped Kiku on the grass without any gentleness, lips drawn in a thin line.

Kiku calmly sat on the grass, head tilted slightly to the left and his face back to its usual stoic state. "What? Aren't you going to kill me?"

"Explain it to me first," Antonio said quietly. "What did you mean when you told me that I'm desecrating Lovi's death?"

"Think about it yourself," Kiku said coldly, crossing his arms.

Antonio's eyes burned. "_You_—!" He raised his paw and prepared to buffet Kiku's head—

—Which was received instead by Alfred, who had appeared from nowhere and had held his arm up to shield Kiku from the blow.

Kiku smirked at Alfred's trembling body. _So the Blood called out to him again, eh?_

Antonio was outraged. "You? I told you to stay the fuck away!" He was about to swipe Alfred away, but Kiku spoke.

"Stop it." He said the words in a cold tone, staring at Antonio stonily. "Both lover and beloved dying in the same way would be stupid. Even Shakespeare's legendary Romeo and Juliet hadn't stooped to such a thing." He raised his chin and regarded Antonio with a stoic expression.

"Wh-what?" Antonio was stupefied at such bold words.

"Lovino had prepared himself for the dishonor of regicide," Kiku replied emotionlessly, as if he was tired of the matter. "Then he challenged me."

Antonio bristled. "Stop feeding me lies," he snarled. "My proud and honorable Lovi will never do such a—"

"He did."

"He did not!"

"He did," Kiku declared in such an awful tone of finality that Antonio didn't retort. "To save you. His only beloved."

"I—" Antonio was at a loss for words.

Kiku sighed and stood up, straightening his kimono. "You may have not realized it, but I know one of my brothers had threatened Lovino that they will harm you if he will not go against me. Figuratively, you are a hostage."

Antonio shook his head frantically. "No, that's impossi—"

"I don't care if you believe me or not," Kiku said seriously, raising his voice and overriding Antonio. "But remember this. He challenged me honorably and lost. A warrior's greatest honor is to die on the battlefield. He died honorably." Kiku's eyes turned steely. "And now you're staining his death by saying that he died a dishonorable death because of betrayal. Have you no faith with your lover's honor?"

"Just to save me…?" Antonio gasped, a lonely tear streaking down his face.

"So do you still wish to fight me?" Kiku asked calmly, gazing at Antonio without any hint of emotion.

"Not anymore…" Antonio said dully, setting his motorcycle upright and mounting it while his eyes were downcast. "I've lost the passion…"

Kiku breathed out heavily. "I know your whole family was already wiped out… do you have anywhere else to go…?"

Antonio looked up. "What do you mean…?"

Kiku smiled slyly. "You know what I mean. Be a Vassal of mine… and you'll get a chance to have your revenge on whoever of my brothers might have done this to you two." Kiku put a hand on his hip matter-of-factly and calmly looked into Antonio's eyes. "Think about it. Your real enemy is the person who used you to scare Lovino. And I _know_ it's one of my siblings."

Antonio looked devastated and hopeful at the same time. "I was thinking of the same thing. But I know for a fact that the Kingdom of the Rising Sun is currently in turmoil because of the intense rivalry between your siblings for the Throne. And I should think you wouldn't want me to kill your siblings off. Do you mind—?"

Alfred was on the side, listening intently. _What was Kiku planning to do?_

"Not at all. I'm not exactly fond of any of my siblings, so you can rip them apart if you wish, and I'll just turn my head the other way," Kiku said.  
>Antonio's expression relaxed. "I— I guess that won't hurt—"<p>

Kiku smiled widely. "I'm glad you're thinking clearly for once."

* * *

><p>Kiku held up the dog in his hands, looking at its cute face for a long time before putting it down on the floor and looking at Alfred irritably. He stated bluntly, "We don't need a dog, Alfred."<p>

Alfred pouted. "Maybe you don't, but I do. It's lonely here when evening comes."

Antonio entered the room with a burst of energy. Alfred presumed that this was the real Antonio, the Antonio that Lovino loved. He seemed so different from that first meeting. "The kid's right, señorito. And it's so cute anyways~"

Matthew smiled shyly. "I agree… and we'll take good care of it, Kiku-sama, so don't worry…"

Kiku glared. "Fine. But I'll take that promise at face value. You, Alfred, will be the one responsible for all its messes. If I see as much as an iota of its wastes on the hallways…" His eyes gleamed dangerously. "I'll make you pay."

Alfred grinned and flashed a thumbs up. "No prob!" Then he watched the dog run around the place, sniffing at everything. "Um, I just thought of it now, but the little guy's got no name. What do we call him?"

Matthew thought for a moment. "There are too many nice names for it, you know…"

Antonio suggested, "What about Pomodoro? Pomo for short?"

Alfred grimaced. "Can't we make it something not related to food, at least?"

Kiku stood up. "Ah, I'm going crazy with all your talking!" he said exasperatedly. "I'll just be the one to give him a name then!" He pointed his finger commandingly at the dog. The dog stilled and turned around, as if he sensed Kiku's attention at him. "From now on, you're Pochi-kun. And I swear by the Blood of the Golden Chrysanthemum, you'll not answer to any other name. Understand?"

The white dog, or rather Pochi, yipped happily as if he did understand. It made Alfred break out in cold chills.

* * *

><p>"<em>Come<em>, Sadık."

The Turk glanced blankly at the Chinese boy in front of him, who was wearing a black-and-gray duanghua and black pants. His choppy dark hair reached his chin, and his dark eyes were emotionless and ominous.

"We are here, Xiao Chun. Is this where your older brother lived? It's too… drab a town."

"That is just like my Kiku-nii-sama. He likes solitude and simplicity." Xiao Chun's face didn't betray anything, but his dark eyes were alight with mischief. "Now we go and give him a little housewarming party. You can also try to befriend my brother's android or something."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The last part kinda sucked…**

** Review guys! Next chapter will feature a new friend… or is it new opponent? *grin***

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku's younger brother Xiao Chun shows up in the town, proposing an alliance against their other siblings. Kiku refuses, but Xiao Chun's goal from the start was to plant a large array of fireworks near the house to attempt to burn it to the ground.


	4. Alliance

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Half-Werewolf Antonio Carriedo, the lover of the werewolf Lovino Vargas who was killed by Kiku, comes to claim his revenge. But he does not yet realize that he himself was used as a chess piece to make Lovino betray Kiku.<p>

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, Black!Kiku, Black!XiaoChun, Android!Sadık, more crazy characters in the next few chapters

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

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><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku's younger brother Xiao Chun shows up in the town, proposing an alliance against their other siblings. Kiku refuses, but Xiao Chun's goal from the start was to plant a large array of fireworks near the house to attempt to burn it to the ground.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fourth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Alliance<em>

* * *

><p>"So this is the town where my older brother currently lives…"<p>

The Chinese boy smirked to himself and beckoned at his android, a sullen Turkish man with a mask over the upper half of his tanned face.

"Come Sadık!" the teenager exclaimed impatiently, the sleeves of his oversized black duanghua flapping in the wind. "By the Blood of the Purple Orchid, I'll have you replaced if you don't hurry up!"

The android grumbled, but his walking sped up a little faster.

Xiao Chun's smirk widened when he saw the house on the distance.

"I'm near, onii-sama…"

* * *

><p>Antonio was watching Kiku give Alfred a dose of his Blood on the front lawn when Xiao Chun and his android walked into plain view and enter the front gate as if they owned the place. Kiku withdrew his fingers before he could even give Alfred a taste of his Blood and looked around at the newcomers, his brow furrowed.<p>

"Hello, onii-sama!" was Xiao Chun's not-too-enthusiastic greeting to Kiku.

"_Kiku_!" Alfred grumbled when he sensed Kiku pause from giving him a drink. He had been feeling lightheaded all morning because of the wearing off of the Blood's effect.

Kiku ignored him. "Xiao Chun? What an unpleasant surprise!"

Xiao Chun laughed mirthlessly. "Come on, Kiku-nii-sama. You're getting much too cold to your little brother now!"

"Your brother?" Antonio asked Kiku, rage flitting in his features. His arms transformed into the paws of a Werewolf. "One of the infernal princes who set up my Lovi!"

"Antonio—!" Kiku was about to say, but with a bound and a snap, Antonio was lunging toward Xiao Chun, who looked bored.

"Sadık," Xiao Chun said lazily.

Sadık went before Xiao Chun and held out a palm to Antonio.

Antonio roared. "That masked man is nothing to me!"

Xiao Chun smirked evilly. "Whatever you bloody say, halfbreed."

Sadık received both of Antonio's paws without so much as a flinch. Antonio's eyes widened. This guy was strong!

Xiao Chun whistled shrilly, and Sadık threw Antonio far into the trees, hard.

Kiku sighed, putting his clean hand on his forehead. "Antonio, it's not Xiao Chun…"

"Picking fights with an android… what a fool…" Xiao Chun chuckled, then glanced at Alfred, who was looking hungrily at Kiku's fingers, which in turn were dripping a lot of Blood. "Oh, is that guy one of your Blood warriors, onii-sama?"

Kiku finally let Alfred lap up the Blood from his fingers. "I wouldn't call him that. He's much too useless for that honor."

Alfred made a face at Kiku after drinking. "Oh, am I?"

Xiao Chun snickered. "This is… an interesting house."

* * *

><p>Kiku knelt at the low table, Herakles cross-sitting on his right side, and took a sip of the green tea standing in front of him. Xiao Chun was kneeling opposite him at the table, a cup of black tea in front of him.<p>

"Xiao Chun." Kiku finally spoke as he set his cup down and directed his words at Xiao Chun, who was drinking black tea with a bored expression on his face. "You know that all of us siblings are currently engaged in a battle for the Throne, and because of that, we are virtually enemies." He glanced at Xiao Chun with a perplexed look in his dark eyes. "So what are you doing here?"

Xiao Chun calmly put his teacup back on its saucer and looked into Kiku's blank eyes. "Onii-sama, do you really want me to answer that question?"

* * *

><p>"Hoy, why are you peeking, amigo?" Antonio asked curiously as he sat on the engawa outside with Alfred, who was opening the shoji behind them to peek into the room where Kiku and Xiao Chun were talking.<p>

"Quiet, dude… But is that really one of Kiku's siblings?" Alfred inquired in a quiet voice, eyebrows drawing together as he watched the people beyond the paper door.

"Si… Xiao Chun of the Purple Orchid, the third son of the Royalty…" Antonio leaned lazily against one of the huge wooden posts that held up the roof.

"Oh…" Alfred grimaced. "So he's one of those aiming to kill Kiku?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Antonio said in an irritated voice. "Kiku told me that that bamboo stick isn't the one who… you know…" He sighed heavily. "But I still don't like the aura of that kid. After all, he's just freaking sixteen or something… he shouldn't be participating in this kind of battle or he'll end up blowing his opponents with himself if he's not careful."

"He's sixteen already?" Alfred asked, openmouthed. "He looks more like fourteen or something…"

"Yup. Let's see…" Antonio ticked names on his fingers. "There's the oldest son, Yao of the White Peony, who's already twenty years old… and then the oldest daughter, Kim of the Red Lotus, nineteen years old… and Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum, the second son, comes next at eighteen years—"

"He's actually older than me?" Alfred's eyebrows had risen dramatically.

"Yup," Antonio replied, sniggering at Alfred's expression. "Don't sweat it. All the members of the Royalty look younger than they really are, ha ha. And to continue the list, there's our man, the third son, Xiao Chun of the Purple Orchid, sixteen years old… Immediately after him is the youngest son Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon, fifteen… and finally, the youngest daughter, Xiao Mei of the Plum Blossom, at fourteen. There now." Antonio scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "Out of all of them, only Kim was already eliminated, so all of the others are still probably running about."

"Why do they have flowers tacked onto their names?" Alfred asked, confused.

"I dunno, but I know that the one who wins this bloodbath will use the flower tacked on his or her name as the symbol of the Kingdom." Antonio said, shrugging.

"I see…" Alfred frowned, running a hand through his blond hair. So things were getting more complicated than when he first met Kiku…

* * *

><p>"An alliance?"<p>

"Yes, onii-sama. An alliance." Xiao Chun drained his cup and smiled at Kiku slyly. "From what I've heard, our two youngest siblings had already entered into one because they know that they are too weak to stand separately."

"If Mei entered into an alliance with Yong Soo…" Kiku narrowed his eyes. "That would make her my enemy too."

Xiao Chun's smile widened. "Indeed."

It was Kiku's turn to smile slyly at Xiao Chun. "But I don't know… are you really okay to be under my patronage? As the elder of us two… Do you really want to be my ally, or are you perhaps planning on backstabbing me once I feel secure with you?"

Xiao Chun's smile turned into an amused smirk.

Kiku sighed and smiled sweetly at Xiao Chun. "Whichever your motives might have been, it doesn't matter." He drained his cup and stared into Xiao Chun's stoic eyes. "My answer will never change. I say no." He put down the cup with a gentle thump as it hit the surface of the table. "You may leave."

Xiao Chun suddenly stood up and leaned forward, his smile replaced by an outraged expression in his eyes. "Onii-sama! Are you really going to abandon me and let them tear me up into pieces!"

Kiku was unfazed. "Those words, coming from someone who had the strength to practically bomb my house to the ground, are not very convincing, dear Xiao Chun. So stop your acting and get out all those fireworks from my house."

Xiao Chun's outraged expression instantly relaxed into a scornful smirk again. "You really know me, onii-sama. I'm impressed!" He sighed. "But it really is too late now. I must go. Oh, and enjoy my little housewarming gift! Take care lest you burn your precious little feet, Kiku-nii-sama."

He stood up and exited the room. Kiku let him go and looked at Herakles.

"I really underestimated Xiao Chun, Hera-chan," he said. "Those fireworks. Can we get them all out?"

"Not in time… Kiku-sama…"

"I thought so too… So that's the reason why his android wasn't here with him before while we were talking. Sneaky devils." Kiku stood up and sighed heavily. "We'll go out of the house! Call Alfred, Antonio and Matthew before this house blows up!" He narrowed his eyes. "I may have called them fireworks, but I know that they have the strength of dynamite. Knowing Xiao…"

* * *

><p>The sound of the fireworks exploding was music to Xiao Chun's ears as he listened at a small distance from the house, with his android back by his side.<p>

"Lovely," he murmured. "Sadık, d'you think they're dead already?"

"I wouldn't be too complacent, Xiao Chun-gōng," Sadık replied sternly.

Xiao Chun smiled with an evil glint in his eyes. "You worry too much, Sadık."

"I thought you've run away already," said a voice behind them. Startled, Xiao Chun turned around to see Kiku's shadowy form, accompanied by Antonio, Herakles, and Alfred. "You're more reckless than I've thought."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, onii-sama," Xiao Chun remarked. His eyes blazed red. "Of course… I wouldn't give up on my victory…!"

Kiku instantly dodged out of the way as Xiao Chun got out firecrackers from under his shirt, lighted them up, and threw those to them, all in a blink of an eye. Antonio wasn't too lucky—he received an angry burn on his left arm.

"Ay, that's not nice!" he howled.

Kiku's eyes widened as the ground exploded beneath him anywhere he walked. His eyes were enraged. "So you planted a hell of a lot of mines here in this hill? What a sneaky child!"

"Oh! Gotcha!" Xiao Chun snickered as one of the mini-mines near Kiku exploded, singeing his sleeves. "Poor kimono… that must have cost onii-sama a fortune!"

Kiku grimaced inwardly as he rolled his sleeves around his arms to prevent them from getting any worse. "Antonio! Grab your bike and let's go!"

Antonio grinned, even though he was sore all over from the mines. "Aw right!"

Xiao Chun laughed out loud. "Onii-sama, run away all you want! They'll still get you!"

Kiku's lips broke into a creepy smirk that rivaled Xiao Chun's evil laugh. "You wish, my dear little brother—!"

Antonio mounted quickly on his bike, Kiku leaping up to ride behind him.

"Go, Antonio!" Kiku said as more mines began exploding around them.

Antonio whooped as the bike shot off with them into the gathering darkness, mines exploding after them.

"There's nowhere safe for you, onii-sama!" Xiao Chun called out after them.

Kiku laughed as he gripped Antonio's shoulders to steady himself. "Oh, there is," he said quietly. "Just one place…"

Xiao Chun's brown eyes looked amused as he saw the pair speed back to his position after a while, the mines too slow to prevent them from nearing. "Silly onii-sama!" he said loudly. "Sadık, get them!"

Sadık drew a pair of large knives from the sheaths strapped on his belt and hurled one at Antonio. It scraped his shoulder.

"Ow!" Antonio winced, but he kept the speed up. "That guy throws knives hard!"

Sadık raised the other knife.

"Here comes another, señorito!" Antonio shouted with a grimace.

"It'll be fine," Kiku said with a straight face. "Androids of the Royalty will never attack a family member."

Antonio wanted to face palm, but he was driving a motorcycle. "O Dios mio! Then that means he'll be aiming at me—!"

Just then, to Antonio's relief, something rushed and smashed into Sadık, knocking the android over. Xiao Chun was shocked.

"How—! Sadık weighs at least a few tons!" he said in disbelief.

"Hm. That must be my Hera-chan to your rescue, Antonio-san," Kiku remarked with a slight smile.

"Ah, gracias, Herakles!" Antonio whooped. Then he breathed deeply. "Ready to go, señorito?"

"Yes!" Kiku braced himself as the motorcycle neared Xiao Chun.

"Uno, dos, tres!" Antonio roared, and Kiku gracefully leaped from the bike, his sleeves unfurling and giving him the likeness of a nightingale in flight, and launched himself in Xiao Chun's direction, who didn't realize what was happening until Kiku's arms were already wrapped around him. The force of the hug knocked both of them from the safety zone and into the territory of the mines.

Xiao's eyes widened as he realized what Kiku was trying to do.

"_Onii-sama!_" he screamed.

"Together, my dear," Kiku merely replied, arms tightening. "And I do want to join in an alliance with you, after all…"

The mines exploded all around them, engulfing the silence of the night.

* * *

><p>Kiku sighed as he sipped at his tea the next morning. When he set it back on the table, he watched Alfred as he bantered back and forth with Xiao Chun, who seemed to take an interest in him from the first sight.<p>

"What if you become my Blood warrior instead of my onii-sama's?" Xiao Chun asked curiously, as Alfred's jaw dropped. "I haven't any Blood warriors as of today…"

"Xiao, I had agreed to an alliance with you," Kiku interrupted coldly. "That does not mean that you can carry my Blood warrior away from me."

"Ah, but my onii-sama… I have no one else but my stupid Sadık to protect me—!"

"I'm not stupid…!" Sadık piped up.

"No one… believes it… I'm sure…" Herakles said snappily.

"Shut up, you stupid cat-lover!"

"You too… Zorro-wannabe…!"

"Why _you_—!"

"I think this is the end of the discussion, Xiao."

"So unfair as always, Kiku-nii-sama…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aww cute…:)**

**Anyways, I'd like to see what you think of this chapter! And maybe hazard a guess on what will be Arthur's role in Kiku's life the next chapter…:))**

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: The student council president Arthur Kirkland was actually concealing a terrible secret that can put Kiku in danger. And Alfred, in turn, can put Kiku in danger or in safety because of this secret. Kiku can only use his wits to help him escape this new threat.


	5. Blood Relationship

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

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><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Kiku's younger brother Xiao Chun shows up in the town, proposing an alliance against their other siblings. Kiku refuses, but Xiao Chun's goal from the start was to plant a large array of fireworks near the house to attempt to burn it to the ground.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, Black!Kiku, _AND_ **Vampire!Arthur**. Yeah. Really.

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: The student council president Arthur Kirkland was actually concealing a terrible secret that can put Kiku in danger. And Alfred, in turn, can put Kiku in danger or in safety because of this secret. Kiku can only use his wits to help him escape this new threat.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Fifth Drop of Blood:<em>**  
><em>Blood Relationship<em>

* * *

><p>While all of these things had been happening in Alfred's life, he had never forgotten that he was still a student before he was a Blood warrior, and always tried to keep up with all the schoolwork even with the extra stress of trying to deal with his unusual secret.<p>

Arthur Kirkland, the student council president, had been helping him cope up with the lessons, and even tutored him on a subject once or twice. Alfred often wondered why Arthur insisted on helping him, as Arthur was one of the popular guys in school, but came to appreciate it as the days passed.

And the longer he stayed at this school, the more he found out that Arthur wasn't just one of the popular guys in the school. He was 'the' popular guy in school. Charismatic, attractive, helpful, industrious, strong-willed—Alfred's classmates could go on all day listing all of Arthur Kirkland's good characteristics. Alfred, being an eyewitness to all of these qualities, hadn't anything to say against the guy, really.

But… How should he say it? Sometimes, he couldn't help but notice Arthur's intent stares at his face whenever they are together. It was as if Arthur was searching for something in Alfred's blue eyes. Something… intangible.

"Arthur?" Alfred looked up from his Math homework to see Arthur's startlingly green eyes again fixed on his blue ones. "Um, what's wrong, man?"

Arthur coughed awkwardly and shook his head. "Nothing. Uh, continue doing that. And…" He flicked his eyes at Alfred's work for a second before stating bluntly, "You did equation number two completely wrong."

"Huh?" Alfred immediately turned his attention to his homework, and instantly forgot all about the matter while Arthur pointed out the mistake.

* * *

><p>Alfred was just chilling out in Kiku's house when the phone rang. He picked up, and he was fully expecting that it was Xiao Chun calling to Kiku, that he almost dropped the phone when he heard the accented voice on the other line.<p>

"_Hello? May I speak to Alfred Jones?_"

After a moment of pondering whether he should answer or what, he took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, um, this is Al speaking."

There was a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line. "_Oh! Um, hi, it's Arthur. Uh, mind if you go up to my house tonight? Um, I have something awesome to show you…_"

"Really? Cool, what is it?" Alfred asked curiously, tilting his head.

"_It's a surprise_."

"Okay then. Be right there."

"_Oh, and please don't tell anyone where you're going, okay? I want just you to see_."

"Okay…"

"_Well, bye then. You already know where my house is, right?_"

"'Kay! I'll be right there! Your house is at 17 Apple Grove, right?"

"_Yeah_."

"Alright! Wait for me, dude!"

Alfred put the receiver back on the cradle and shrugged on his bomber jacket, but before he could put the sole of his slipper on the entrance hall, a voice rang out behind him.

"Alfred, where are you going at this time of night?"

Oh… double shit. The only person that could hinder him.

"Oh! Kiku… I just forgot something at school! Yeah, that's it!" Alfred was making everything up as he went along, but he hoped that Kiku will buy the story for now. He'll have to ask Arthur for help. "So… I'm going now! It's getting late!"

Kiku's lips were turned in a careful smirk. Alfred couldn't read that expression, and hoped that Kiku was just thinking of something—

"Okay. You may go."

Alfred was ecstatic at the response, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was amiss again. Kiku was just… a bit _too_ consenting.

"Ah, I'm going then," Alfred said cautiously, tugging off his slippers on the doorway and putting on his shoes.

"Oh, and Alfred?"

Alfred froze. "What?"

"It's a lovely crescent moon tonight. Be careful of where you're going."

Alfred gulped inwardly. "Alright. Yeah, I'll be careful."

Kiku was still smirking sarcastically. "Good."

* * *

><p>"Antonio?"<p>

Kiku found Antonio stuffing his face in the kitchen while Matthew was cooking some paella. "Yeah, señorito?"

"Can you please go and check where Alfred is going?" Kiku crossed his arms and frowned. "I sensed a suspicious presence."

Antonio chuckled lightheartedly. "Señorito, you're the most suspicious presence here in this town. And why don't you go check him up yourself? He's your Blood warrior, not mine."

"If my suspicions are correct, I shouldn't leave the house," Kiku said flatly, eyes darkening with subtle irritation. "Now will you go and follow Alfred, please? You're wasting the time."

"On it, señorito!"

* * *

><p>"I thought you'd never come, Alfred…" Arthur smiled at Alfred and lay on the spread blanket dreamily, watching the sky above the both of them.<p>

"Yup, you sounded pretty interesting." Alfred sat comfortably beside Arthur on the blanket, feeling the shorter blond's bright green eyes watch him very interestedly. It made him terribly self-conscious.

"Well, tonight is very beautiful, right?" Arthur suggested. "I just thought you'd want to stargaze a bit up there. It's a very nice thing to do, really, but I know no one willing to share this hobby with me. I think you'd be interested."

"Yeah, never did it before…"

They were on Arthur's flat rooftop, watching the crescent moon and the thousands of stars surrounding it. Alfred had thought it surprising that such a popular guy could be introverted at times, and he admitted that Arthur was really a nice guy.

Arthur sat up and leaned closer to Alfred, making the other uncomfortable. "I love seeing the crescent moon. Guess why?"

Alfred was carefully avoiding Arthur's gaze. "W-why?"

If he had been looking, he should have seen Arthur's pupils dilate and his canine teeth lengthening subtly into sharp fangs. "Because it strengthens Vampires like me."

And he sank his fangs in the side of Alfred's throat.

* * *

><p>"O Dios mio… the señorito's got this right…" Antonio muttered as he ran through the streets, sniffing the air carefully with his nose. "I should have smelled this horrible stench a while back! Maybe I was too preoccupied with Lovi's death to notice this…"<p>

He finally reached Apple Grove, stopping every now and then to sniff at every other house.

"Here!" he snarled quietly, pausing at number seventeen. "A fucking Vampire!"

* * *

><p>"Hera-chan, do you know how to protect yourself from a Vampire?"<p>

Herakles watched impassively as Kiku drank some tea from a cup as usual. The pair were sitting in the dining room, while Kiku watched the moon from his seat inside the house.

"The answer is relatively simple," Kiku continued, glancing at the sleepy eyes of his android. "Just don't leave your house. A Vampire can't enter a house unless he or she has been invited in at least once."

Herakles tilted his head blankly. The cat beside him purred.

"But once you meet a Vampire outside, and most especially at night," Kiku sighed and went on, "you couldn't hope to beat him or her."

"Are… you afraid… of them…?" Herakles said seriously.

Kiku laughed softly. "I'm not particularly afraid of Vampires. After all"—he glanced once again at the moon—"they have their natural enemies."

Herakles was silent.

"Werewolves, my dear."

* * *

><p>Just then, Alfred got out of the house, silently passing Antonio who was surprised.<p>

"Oy! Alfredo!" Antonio looked puzzled when Alfred ignored him completely. "Kiddo!" He smelled the air when he realized something. "Shit! He's bitten!"

When he made as if to follow Alfred, a lithe figure dropped down in front of him from the rooftop of the house that he was inspecting a while back. Antonio's hypersensitive nose wrinkled in disgust.

"It'll be best for everyone if we don't interrupt him." The being in front of him was smiling smugly at Antonio's reaction. "Oh, I thought I smelled a mongrel somewhere. Seems I was right."

Antonio's and Arthur's green eyes locked in mutual enmity. With a dangerous snarl, Antonio's arms morphed into the savage clawed paws and made a lunge at Arthur, screaming, "Shut up! Your kind has killed many of my brethren!"

Arthur leaped a yard away from Antonio's blow, smiling at Antonio's unbridled rage. "Same here. Now go back to your zoo, dog boy," he scoffed, the power of the crescent moon making his green eyes glow. Arthur lifted his lip to expose his fangs in a threatening snarl. "You attack as recklessly as a beast!"

"You've no right to admonish me, filth!" Antonio spat back, lunging at Arthur again. This time, Arthur gave him a swift smile and ran, the wind whipping his hair at the speed. Antonio roared and set off in hot pursuit of the scent.

"Gotcha, Vampire!" After some kilometers, Antonio successfully clamped his arms around Arthur, who hissed in anger. "What did you do to Alfred? Why is he like that? Answer, or I strike!"

"Nothing, doggie," Arthur replied, ominously limp in Antonio's grasp. "I just sent him home…"

Antonio glared at him suspiciously.

"Kiku-sama is at home, isn't he?" Arthur asked simply, which made Antonio pause with surprise. Arthur immediately slipped out from his grasp, but he didn't run away. Antonio stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, until he relaxed his face into an incredulous smile.

"Oh, so you're really after the señorito, eh?" Antonio snorted. "And you're using Alfred because you knew that he won't need anyone inviting him in, eh?"

Arthur licked his lips with a hungry look in his eyes. "Well, immortality-granting Blood…" he mused thoughtfully. "It sounds _delicious_ to me… it must be a Vampire's once-in-a-lifetime treat. Even if I do have a longer life compared to mortals, but still…" He sighed melodramatically. "…in my opinion, magical Blood is simply… nicer to drink than normal blood. Don't you think?"

Antonio suddenly dealt Arthur a huge blow to the cheek, making the other skid back a few yards. "You talk too much, Vampire," he growled with a snap.

Arthur straightened up, his eyes wide and furious. "Livestock like you are meant to be eaten for dinner!" he hissed.

All the while, the hypnotized Alfred was walking all the way to Kiku's house, his blank blue eyes glowing under the influence of the crescent moon.

* * *

><p>The clock struck twelve in the dining room where Kiku and Herakles were still sitting peacefully, making the former look up at the clock.<p>

"Alfred and Antonio are late, Hera-chan…" he murmured, patting Pochi-kun as the white dog nuzzled against his leg. He heard a high-pitched squeak, and looked just in time to see a bat fluttering by the open shoji and flying away in haste.

Kiku laughed in sarcastic delight. "So things went badly, hm?"

* * *

><p>Alfred slowly made his way inside the house, opening and closing the front door absently and making his way to the dining room where he can strongly smell the appetizing scent of Kiku's Blood. He slid the door to the dining room open…<p>

…And was met by a black katana slicing its leisurely way through his left shoulder and back.

Kiku chuckled in amusement as he examined the sword's bloodstained blade carefully. "Beautiful sword, isn't it, Alfred? Given by my Yao-nii-sama for my seventeenth birthday. And it serves a useful purpose at times like this."

Alfred had been thrown backwards by the force of the blow, slamming to the opposite wall but immediately rising up, his blue eyes glowing eerily in the light.

"…Blood…"

Kiku smirked and raised the black-bladed katana, challenge in his eyes. "Come and get it then, my Blood warrior."

* * *

><p>"Bloody hell—!"<p>

Arthur was running as fast as the wind, Antonio clutching on his arm for dear life. The Brit had tried every trick he knew to shake off the halfbreed, but Antonio held on solidly, his teeth clenched tightly as he was dragged over occasional sharp stones and sticks lying on the ground.

"Let go, you bloody git!" Arthur yelled shrilly, shaking his arm desperately. "Or I'll get fucking angry!"

"Whatever, Vampy!" Antonio replied back, a triumphant smile on his lips as he saw Arthur slowly getting pissed off. "If you're going to kill me, do it!"

* * *

><p>Herakles threw Alfred bodily against the wall, sending Alfred on the floor with a stunned face. Kiku rolled his eyes and sighed.<p>

"A Blood warrior further strengthened by vampirism…" he said aloud to Herakles, shaking his head with amusement. "I kind of thought that he'd be more of a threat…" He glanced around at the android, who was still staring at Alfred's limp body resting on the wall.

"Hera-chan, I hope Antonio captures that Vampire who so boldly challenged a member of the Royalty," Kiku went on. "Or else, Alfred's life is in danger…"

As if on cue, the phone went off, and Kiku answered it with a calm air.

"Oh, señorito! I'm sorry… the little bastardo got away…" Antonio's words were slurred, giving Kiku a clue that Antonio must have been worn tired by Arthur to finally allow the latter to beat him. "Anyways, if only tonight was a full moon! I could have given that Vampire a sound beating! It's my fault if we will not be able to save Alfredo! It's all my fault!" Kiku heard an angry sound at the other end of the line, and knew that Antonio had slammed his fist to the ground. Then, in a more subdued way, the Spaniard continued, "But the blond filth got away… the only cure for a Vampire bite is a serum made from the blood of the Vampire who bit him, right?"

Kiku's expression was eerily stoic, a sign that he was thinking fast. "Yes, that's correct." He paused, then went on. "If we can't find the Vampire who did this to him tonight, Alfred can't be saved."

"Can't be saved? Sure he can still be saved!" Antonio roared at the other end of the line, making Kiku's eyes flutter shut in horror. "If we can just find that blasted Vampire, we can still save the kid! It has no bearings on the serum's effect to Alfredo even for as long as it takes!"

Kiku let out a troubled sigh. "Yes, that is all perfectly true, but the effect of my Blood is running out tomorrow…"

Antonio's silence stretched into five shocked minutes. Then he remembered to use his tongue. "N-no…" he choked out finally, tears burning hot in his eyes and threatening to drop. "He's a good kid! He can't die!" He punched the ground again, exasperated. "It's all my fucking fault! Shit! It's always my mess-up!"

Kiku listened impassively to Antonio's ramblings and lowered the phone with a sigh when Antonio ended the call abruptly. Coming to a decision, he approached the still-stunned Alfred and knelt by him, lifting up Alfred's head to make his glowing blue eyes look blearily at him.

"Alfred, this is a special case," Kiku murmured softly, staring into Alfred's blue eyes with his bottomless dark ones. "Don't think anything like this will ever happen again…"

Alfred perked up at the scent of Kiku's Blood, which was so appetizingly close. Just a bite away… The Vampiric venom in Alfred's bloodstream was making him giddy and excited as Kiku self-consciously tugged at the collar of his black-and-silver kimono to expose an expanse of deliciously pale-white throat.

"…Blood…" Alfred murmured thirstily as the last of Kiku's resistances fell away.

Kiku's dark eyes slid blissfully shut as he let Alfred pin him to the wall and press dry lips against his bared neck.

"Go, and receive my Blood, my warrior…"

* * *

><p>"Ah, it has been a very long night, thanks to that halfbreed brute…"<p>

Arthur Kirkland settled himself for a long restful sleep as he slid his body in an ornate black coffin stored in a hidden room in his Apple Grove home, the dawn closing upon him as he lay in the casket. He did not sleep just yet, instead thinking about the past few hours.  
>"Well… soon I'll be able to taste the Blood of the prince," he said thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling. "And I'll bet he's a virgin too… double treat…"<p>

Arthur grinned mentally and shut the coffin lid for a few brief minutes of darkness and peace before the lid was abruptly reopened by someone. The Vampire froze, looking up at the person who found him.

"…Impossible! You can't be here already!"

The other made no response other than to place a sharp piece of white wood directly on Arthur's heart. The Vampire was getting more bewildered by the second.

"A white ash stake? But how—?"

The intruder raised a hammer slowly as if threatening to drive the stake immediately through him. Arthur's heart made great thumps as he considered if he should do anything. Then he asked a question that bugged him.

"How did you know that I was hidden away in this secret room?" he shouted desperately, almost feeling the pain of the stake when the intruder paused.

Kiku bared his teeth to Arthur in a diabolical grin, revealing his two canine teeth growing into short fangs. "I just asked your blood."

Arthur was in shock, but it quickly passed into wonder. "You… you let him bite you?" he asked in a whisper, amazed.

Kiku's breaths came in short pants, and sweat was dripping off his face, marking the finish of the struggle between the two bloodlines in his body. "Between the Vampire blood and my Royal Blood, the Royal Blood won…" His grin went wider, and Arthur noticed that his teeth were slowly growing back to normal, albeit still sharp, as the Vampire blood surrendered and settled calmly in Kiku's bloodstream.

Arthur's green eyes were fixed on Kiku's brown ones. "Impossible…" he muttered. "A member of the Royalty wouldn't have taken such a risk just to extend the life of his Blood warrior…"

Kiku chuckled lightly, his pale arm still raised. "I'm now a bit repulsive… I guess…"

Arthur stared at him with undecided eyes, until he finally sighed and sank back in the snug silk wrappings of the coffin.

"You win, then." Arthur smiled wearily. "And I guess it's not so bad to be killed by someone like yourself…"

Kiku leaned over Arthur's submissive form. "Tell me one thing," he muttered. "Are you the one who controls the general hospital in this town?"

Arthur grinned. "Rest assured I'm not. I'm only interested in virgins and young girls…"

Kiku sighed with a smile and removed the stake from Arthur's chest. "Fine then," he said. "I'm not killing you."

Arthur raised himself on his elbows to get in closer proximity of Kiku's face and stared into him amusedly. "Are you perhaps pitying me?"

Kiku shook his head with a sarcastic smile. "No, I just don't think you've done enough for you to deserve death." He pulled out a syringe from his obi. "However, I am going to need a small amount of your blood…"

* * *

><p>Alfred walked across campus to gather some materials from the library when he heard some girls gathering around someone and speaking worriedly.<p>

"Arthur-senpai? Are you all right? You've been absent for a week…"

"No, I'm fine… just got a bit ill, but it's okay now, I don't feel sick…"

"But senpai…"

Just then, Arthur unluckily spied Alfred staring over at them.

"Good morning Alfred!"

"G-good morning," Alfred returned awkwardly, inclining his head slightly to Arthur. "Um, I have to go now…"

"Oh, sure…" Arthur bared his perfectly straight teeth in an angelic smile. "If you have some time, we can go in my house again and gaze at the stars…"

Alfred gulped and walked quickly away, his head bowed and his face shocked.

Arthur grinned and turned back to the girls, who were watching wonderingly at the short conversation.

_Hmm… these adorable little lambs… whose blood should I taste first…?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Loooove Arthur Kirkland…**  
><strong>Review…! the rest of the characters should come out while the story goes…<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku is attacked by three Werewolves at night and he and his team must take them down. Antonio fights for his pride while Alfred is reminded again that he is a warrior protecting Kiku's life.


	6. Carnage

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Kiku founds out that Arthur Kirkland was actually a Vampire. Arthur manages to bite Alfred, but Kiku is one step ahead and successfully captures Arthur, even risking his life for Alfred's own.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, Werewolf!Denmark, Werewolf!Norway, Werewolf!Sweden, some more uninvited guests, and of course our main character Black!Kiku. Because this remorseless dark prince deserves his own warning.

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku is attacked by three Werewolves at night and he and his team must take them down. Antonio fights for his pride while Alfred is reminded again that he is a warrior protecting Kiku's life.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Sixth Drop of Blood:<em>**  
><em>Carnage<em>

* * *

><p>"Ouji-sama, run! Go somewhere far and safe! We'll hold them off!"<p>

Seventeen-year-old Kiku Honda, in an ornate silk kimono colored in the purest white with an obi of silver, stared in horror at the commander of his army of Blood warriors, his soft and innocent dark eyes round and shocked at the commander's words.

"I can't just leave you here! You're all Blood warriors… You'll all expire after a few days without my Blood!" Kiku was shaking his head frantically, tears falling from his gentle eyes.

"Ouji-sama… It is our highest honor to die in battle for you… We only live to protect you… So please… just go…!"

A flash of fire… The palace went up in flames….

"_Kiku-sama_—!"

Kiku shot up from his sleep, his dark eyes betraying a complex myriad of emotions for the first time ever since he fled his mother's palace. He calmed himself slowly, his eyes slowly reverting to their emotion-ridden state. The words that came out from his lips, however, were laced strongly with hate and remorse.

"I'll make the traitor pay for what he took from me…" Kiku's eyes were cold and dead as his pale hands gripped the covers of his futon tightly. "I have prepared myself for him… And I'll make sure he'll pay for it dearly with his pathetic little life…"

* * *

><p>"Thank you for inviting me in for dinner, Kiku-sama," Arthur Kirkland said with a smile as he bowed and scraped to Kiku. "It has been a pleasant evening."<p>

Kiku chuckled softly. "So now that I've invited you in my house, you could attack me any time of the day. Hm, Arthur-san?"

"Are you jesting with me, Kiku-sama? Don't worry about that… I am honorable enough," Arthur said with a smile. Kiku smirked.

"You make good dinner company, however," Kiku's brown eyes narrowed into slits, "I didn't really appreciate all your staring. It was as if I was the tomato juice in your glass."

Arthur chuckled. "Your mere presence is already a nice appetizer, Kiku-sama. You might have no idea how mouthwatering your smell is…"

"Charming compliment, dear Vampire," Kiku said dryly.

"Anyways, have a pleasant evening, gentlemen. I must go."

He passed Antonio on the way to the gate. The latter snarled when he realized that Arthur was nearing him.

Arthur laughed lightly, green eyes mischievous. "Oh! So they let you run around without a leash?"

Antonio glared daggers at him. "Get out of here, Vampire. The señorito may have forgiven you, but our matter is certainly still not finished!"

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "My, my. Territorial, are you? Do you go out marking the outside of the house as well?"  
>Antonio smiled sarcastically at Arthur, although he was fuming at the insult inwardly. "I'd watch my back at night if I were you, Vampire."<p>

Arthur smirked. "Are you kidding? Vampires are the masters of the night!"

* * *

><p>However, Arthur knew that he was in for danger the moment he smelled the scent as he made his way to his house, taking the road through the now-dark town.<p>

It was the scent of a pureblooded Werewolf… and not just one of them. There must be three or more, since the scent hung heavily in the air.

Arthur cautiously proceeded, hoping to his stars that they won't smell or see him. It was a futile hope, but he can't risk running away—they'll be at his throat for an instant. Vampires may be fast, but pureblooded Werewolves are decidedly quicker on four feet when they assume their incomplete transformation.

A strangled roar suddenly sounded behind him, and he whipped around just in time to see a huge paw slamming him to the ground.

He gasped with shock as he lay there, a pain jolting his right arm when he attempted to sit up. He glared at the Werewolf who struck him down, baring his fangs threateningly to warn the Werewolf that he wasn't an easy prey.

"Well, look at what we have here!" the one who attacked him said. He was transforming into his human form, revealing a tall young man with pale hair styled in messy spikes.

_Werewolves. I thought so_.

Arthur merely smiled calmly while tilting his chin upward, glaring at the other two figures who emerged from the shadows.

"Should we kill him now?" the first one said, licking his bottom lip slowly. "After all, Vampires are our natural enemies…"

"Let's just leave him for now, Simon," said another Werewolf who hadn't bothered to change back.

Simon whined. "Aw, Luke, don't be like that! Or are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid," the other replied tonelessly. "And don't call me Luke. My proper name is Lukas, dimwit."

"C'mon, Luke… It's as if we're not best pals!" Simon said with a grin.

"Call me Luke one more time and I swear I'll kill you," Lukas said with an annoyed look at Simon, who laughed.

"Really? I'd like to see you try!"

"Well, I will!"

"Ahahaha, have you forgotten that we're—?"

"Sh't 'p!" the last Werewolf roared, silencing the two immediately. Arthur watched on, bored of the proceedings. "W' h've a m'ssi'n! H've you two f'rg'tten th't alr'dy?"

Simon grinned. "But, Berwald—"

"Th' R'yal F'm'ly d'sn't t'ke V'mp'res 's V'ss'ls!" Berwald interrupted, radiating a cold aura that made Simon freeze. "H's j'st a d'str'ct'on! W're r'nn'ng out 'f t'me!"

"Bummer," Simon muttered as the other two turned on their heels and walked off. He turned to Arthur, who was still sitting on the ground. "It's your lucky day, Vampire. Next time I won't be so easy."

Arthur said nothing, merely watching Simon follow his two companions. But in his head, a suspicion was forming.

_The Royal Family…? What could they have wanted to…?_

* * *

><p>"Oy, what was that Alfredo? That's cheating!" Antonio whined as Alfred beat him for the seventh time in a game that they were playing on Alfred's PlayStation in the latter's room.<p>

"That's a perfectly legitimate move, 'kay?" Alfred said with a triumphant laugh as the television screen displayed "K.O." in huge red letters.

"I haven't heard of that move!" Antonio said, still whining.

"Eh, you haven't read the instruction manual yet, that's why…" Alfred said, chortling as he dug around his bag. "Maybe it'll be better if we just change the game…"

Antonio huffed. "It's confusing to think why you're good at games like this when you're really useless in an actual battle…"

Alfred's smile was wiped off his face and was replaced by an "I-can't-believe-you-just-said-that" kind of expression.  
>Antonio was about to open his mouth to rub it in when he smelled something strange that made him pause and prick up his ears.<p>

"How—this scent—" Antonio muttered, standing up with an unreadable expression on his face. "This… I can smell my fellows…"

* * *

><p>"So this is the house of His Highness, Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum?"<p>

The three Werewolves stared up at the great eaves of the house before them. Simon stepped forward and smirked just as the front door slowly slid open to let Antonio out, the Spaniard bristling with suspicion.

"I was right… Werewolves…" he muttered as he drew nearer. Then he declared, "What are you three doing here at this time of night? What are your names? Tell me!"

To Antonio's shock, the only answer that the leader gave him was a smashing blow to the face. Antonio had no time to morph into his half-Werewolf form and instead crossed his arms in front of him to shield his face from any harm. However, he was still thrown from the crushing strength and was sent soaring through the front door and inside the house.

Antonio stood up shakily on his feet and morphed his arms into the great Werewolf paws, roaring, "You don't even give your names before attacking? Hah, bring it on then! I am Antonio of the Carriedo clan, and I swear I'll bring you down, shameless thugs!"

Simon laughed gloatingly, index finger pointed at Antonio condescendingly. "Look! It's a halfbreed!" He guffawed some more when he saw Antonio's irritated face. "What can a halfbreed like you do to three pureblooded Werewolves?"

Antonio's face was concentrated. "Nothing except to grant you honorable deaths!" He smiled tauntingly. "You should thank me!"

"Stop with your big mouth." Simon smirked as Berwald rushed forward to attack, his mouth open wide to show great sharp teeth. Antonio braced himself. He knew that he hadn't the slightest chance to beat these three all by himself, but he had to try.

Just then, a spear flew from behind Antonio and embedded itself in Berwald's forehead, blood spewing out if the wound as he fell. It was a good—no, a flawless shot. Antonio and the other two looked to see Kiku and Herakles standing a little distance behind Antonio, the prince holding a flail in one hand and a coldly appraising expression on his face.

"One down. Two to go."

Simon just chuckled at Kiku's statement. "_Impressive shot_, Kiku-sama… but I wonder about that."

And Antonio watched with amazement as Berwald stood up as if nothing happened and remove the spear from between his eyes. The wound immediately closed up and began healing rapidly.

Antonio was surprised.

"You're… Blood warriors!"

Unbeknownst to them, Arthur Kirkland was perched on the engawa outside, peeking in the slightly opened shoji and watching the scene.

"So they were Blood warriors…" he muttered to himself, frowning. "That must mean that another member of the Royalty is in the area!" He smiled, his canines lengthening to fangs. "Interesting…"

Antonio, meanwhile, recovered from his shock and screamed at the three Werewolves, "Werewolves determine their worth by the manner of their death! And now you've become Blood warriors? **Despicable**—!" The pupils of his eyes dilated with anger. "We Werewolves only have one life! And we have to make the most out of it!"

He then punched the grinning Simon in the stomach, yelling, "You disgust me—!"

Simon was thrown by Antonio's punch, but recovered in an alarmingly fast rate and grabbed Antonio's arm in a viselike grip before he could pull away. He was morphing out into his Werewolf form again. "Not bad… but I should warn you that this is… HOW BLOOD WARRIORS FIGHT!" he roared, about to twist Antonio's arm, but before he could do so, Kiku lashed the flail and caught the Werewolf's arm. It broke, but it just healed again, making Simon grin as Antonio wrenched his arm away.

* * *

><p>The head of Kiku's flail lashed out and got at Lukas's stomach, sending him sprawling on the floor, but the Werewolf just stood back up and grinned at the stoic face of the prince.<p>

"Y'r c'rn'red, K'ku-s'ma," Berwald drawled out. "J'st g've 't 'p…"

Kiku sighed softly. "Well, how many times do I have to tell you Werewolves that you shouldn't underestimate the Royalty?"

He snuck a glance at the wall that he knew concealed a scared Alfred behind it, his dark eyes amused as Lukas and Berwald rushed on him at the same time.

_If he's not going to protect me, then so be it…_

* * *

><p>"Oh, what's the matter, little one?" Simon taunted Antonio as the other picked himself up after getting smashed into the ground. The fight had carried on into the forest, and Antonio was barely hanging on for dear life. "Didn't you say that you were going to kill me?"<p>

Antonio didn't say anything, but his glare spoke volumes

"Oh, that's right…" Simon said with a mock-thoughtful face, smirking at Antonio. "I've always wanted to ask a halfbreed a question that has been bugging me if ever I get to meet one…"

Antonio looked puzzled at the sudden change of topic.

"When your mother conceived you…" Simon's grin was threatening to rip his face in two. "What form was your father in?"

"Wha—?" Antonio's jaw dropped, then he slowly realized what Simon was referring to.

"Were they both humans _or_…" Simon guffawed loudly at the thought. "Which is it? Halfbreed?"

Antonio clenched his teeth, rage making his body shake. "Y-you—!" he roared, rushing at Simon with his paws. "Fuck you! I'll see you dead, you son of a bitch!"

"You, a halfbreed?" Simon grinned, baring his fangs. "Against me, an immortal?"

"Today is a good day to die!" Antonio screeched, bringing down his paw and tearing up Simon's shoulder into ribbons. Simon just smiled, the Blood doing its work and restoring him to normal.

"What's your point, halfbreed?" Simon said, chuckling. "Even if you kill me a thousand times, it'll mean nothing. But if I kill you even once"—his eyes glinted mercilessly—"I win!"

Antonio breathed hard, his paws soaked with blood and his face hidden in the shadows as the night progressed.

* * *

><p>Arthur sat calmly on the edge of the roof of Kiku's house, a multitude of bats surrounding him and all of them squeaking anxiously.<p>

"…I understand…" he whispered to the bat on his shoulder, his green eyes amused. "Good job, everyone…"  
>The bats flew away, leaving Arthur pondering over the bit of news he had gathered. The wind picked up steadily, ruffling his untidy blond hair.<p>

"Hmph…" he muttered softly, frowning slightly as he tilted his head. "How interesting…"

* * *

><p>Herakles managed to slice through Berwald's stomach with the lance that he held as the latter advanced upon Kiku, blood splattering everywhere as the weapon pierced through to the back. Herakles drew it back out swiftly, but Berwald merely cocked a bluish-green eye at Kiku and waited as his wounds knitted up steadily.<p>

"Hm, th' Bl'd 'f a pr'nce…" Berwald snarled quietly, feeling the healing complete itself successfully.

"Refilling as you fight?" Kiku suggested, a smile turning up the corners of his lips. He held the chain of the flail steadily in his hands, calmly appraising the two Werewolves in front of him. Lukas was already rising from his feet, a sly grin adorning his emotionless face as Berwald faced Kiku to snarl threateningly.

"Th' l'ng'r th's dr'gs 'n," he roared, rushing again at the prince, "th' b'tt'r f'r 's! Pr'p're y'rs'lf, K'ku-s'ma!" Berwald easily rushed past Herakles and lifted his paw to maul at Kiku's face—

—And Alfred suddenly ran from his hiding place to intercept the blow, his face strangely blank as the Blood called out to him—

—But was beaten to it by Arthur, who grabbed Alfred's shoulder to launch himself in the air, and delivered a swift dropkick at Berwald's head. The Werewolf was knocked out, and Arthur flashed a smile at the startled Kiku.

"Arthur-san…" Kiku smiled back, a sly look in his eyes. "What are you planning to do?"

"Nothing in particular," Arthur replied, bowing to Kiku politely. "I'm just repaying a debt."

"Tell me honestly, how many of them can you take on?" Kiku asked, grasping the chain of the flail.

"Well, speaking conservatively, I'd say just one," Arthur said, green eyes curious.

Kiku smiled evilly at Arthur's answer. "Then we have this battle won already…" He turned to Herakles, who was standing guard with the lance. "Hera-chan!"

Herakles's head snapped up at the call and he ran off, dropping his lance. The two Werewolves looked at each other in confusion.

"H's 'ndr'id l'ft h's s'de!" Berwald said quietly.

"This could be our chance," Lukas agreed dryly. "But… it could be a trap…"

"S' wh't?" Berwald roared out loud. "W're 'mm'rt'l Bl'd w'rri'rs! Wh't c'n w' b' 'fr'id 'f?"

Just then, a pair of arms gripped his arms from behind in a literal iron grip. Herakles was restraining Berwald, his face sleepy as if he didn't think much about the Werewolf he was holding.

"Wh't th'—?" Berwald struggled, but Herakles didn't budge an inch. "H's h'vy! I c'n't m've!"

Lukas had only just realized what was happening, his blue eyes widening.

Kiku let out a low laugh of pure evil. "_Now_… we just take you out one by one…"

* * *

><p>Antonio dragged Simon's body back in the house, his paws worn and his clothes ripped and bloodied. Kiku, who was waiting at the entrance hall, gave him an emotionless look as he came in, leaving a bloody trail behind them.<p>

"Is he dead?" Kiku asked nonchalantly, brown eyes glancing at Simon as he was dragged along the floorboards.

"Si," Antonio said shortly. "But he'll be back in a minute."

"No matter," Kiku said with an approving nod. "Hera-chan, throw him in the basement with the others."

Antonio chuckled darkly, slowly collapsing on his side. "Serves him right… for looking down… on me…" He finally fainted in front of Kiku, muttering something about "dishonor" and "my familia". Kiku smiled at Antonio, turning his back on the weary half-Werewolf and heading to the basement.

"Now, let's finish this, shall we?"

* * *

><p>Dark. The three Werewolves slowly woke up to find themselves in a place without a single sliver of light.<p>

"W-where are we?" Lukas's voice whispered.

"L'ks l'ike w're l'ck'd 'p s'mewh're," Berwald muttered.

"Hah! That's not a really nice move!" Simon declared. "All of us are together, so once we rest up and heal all of our wounds, we can break down the blasted door!"

Just then, the "blasted door" suddenly opened, letting in light to the three astonished Werewolves.

"The prince…?" Simon muttered, smirking. "He'll regret taking us this lightly!"

Kiku didn't say anything, merely taking a revolver gun from Herakles beside him and aiming the gun directly at Berwald's heart before cocking it with a menacing sound.

The shot rang loudly as Kiku pulled the trigger, the bullet piercing the Werewolf's heart and making Berwald's face contort with unbearable pain.

"Wh't—'s th's?" he roared in pain, clutching at his heart.

Lukas's eyes widened when he realized something. "Are those… silver bullets—?"

Kiku's shoulders shook with a mocking laughter. "Yes," he said with a remorseless smile, the cylinder clicking into place as it rotated. "And it's time"—his dark eyes gleamed with a merciless light—"for you to die over and over again. Until the Royal Blood's effect runs out."

Simon's eyes widened in shock. "You're a fucking merciless monster… you…!"

"I happened to know that Werewolves have extremely strong resistances," Kiku continued sweetly, cutting Simon off. "So I guess this isn't going to end that quickly. But I assure you…" He gave another mocking laugh. "…I don't care how many days this'll take. But however long is the wait, I'm going to kill you again…" Bam, and Lukas sprawled on the floor. "…and again." Bam, and Simon felt a literal heart-piercing pain before blacking out.

Kiku laughed again, a lone tear streaking down his face. "This is for betraying my trust, my cowardly and traitorous brother. And _this_"—he rotated the cylinder for another bullet, prepared for another round—"is for the Blood warriors that you have killed."

* * *

><p>"No…" Alfred shook his head at Arthur disbelievingly, his blue eyes wide. "That's not true…"<p>

The pair of them were sitting at the kitchen table, listening to the sounds of the shots and the noises of agony echoing over and over in the basement as they talked.

"Oh, but it's the truth, Alfred," Arthur said patiently, crossing his arms and watching Alfred out of the corner of his eye. "The bats have told me that there was no member of the Royalty anywhere nearby." Arthur sighed and closed his green eyes wearily. "From the start, they were but disposable tools to be used for just one time and then thrown away."

Alfred gripped the hem of his shirt and twisted it with trembling hands as Arthur continued. "They were three of the special assassins that only the Royalty can use. They will follow their masters faithfully and to the letter even if it may lead to certain death once their masters abandon them."

"I-I don't believe it!" Alfred said loudly, standing up from his seat and glaring at Arthur's relaxed posture against the wall opposite him.

"Well, it seems logical enough for me," Arthur said matter-of-factly, his eyes snapping open and watching Alfred as he paced around the kitchen. Another round of gun shots sounded from the basement as Arthur began to speak again.

"The day may come when Kiku-sama may order you to do something similar," Arthur said in a musing tone.

That was when Alfred snapped. "Kiku… Kiku won't do that!" he yelled, his voice ringing out in the kitchen. "He may not be the nicest person alive, but I—!"

Arthur smiled at Alfred sadly. "Stop thinking like a child, Alfred. Think!" Arthur retraced Alfred's steps when the other teenager stopped in his tracks and watched him with wide blue eyes. "Why do you think you are his first and only Blood warrior as of today?" Arthur's steps began turning into strides as he began feeling agitated. Alfred was just silent. "And if he had Blood warriors in the past, where are they now?"

Arthur waited for the words to sink in, and when they did, Alfred was shaking his head again, his eyes at their largest. "No! Kiku… he…"

Arthur sighed softly and smiled. "Isn't it wonderful, Alfred? Kiku Honda's cruel and sadistic streak… Truly a work of art, if I may say so myself…"

Alfred didn't hear the rest of Arthur's speech, because he was already up and running toward the basement, his eyes weirdly hot.

"Kiku!" he shouted as he finally reached the metal door to the Werewolves' death chamber and began pounding on it. Gunshots rang out again while he hit the door with his fists. "I need to ask you something! Open up!" The first tears came slowly, only bordering on the corners of his eyes but not falling. "You gave me this life… and I know that this life is not just mine alone, but…"

_But_…

"But I—" Alfred mustered up his courage and yelled, "I'll serve you…! No matter what kind of person you are…! Kiku… I…"

* * *

><p>It was already morning when Kiku and Herakles finally emerged from the chamber, but Alfred was ready for them and rushed to Kiku immediately, shouting Kiku's name out loud.<p>

"Alfred…?" Kiku looked as if he badly needed a good sleep, but he still smiled his trademark sarcastic smile and said calmly, "The effects of my Blood must be almost gone… So…"

He bit the skin of his index finger as usual to let the Blood run out, and held it out to Alfred graciously.

Alfred wondered at that moment if Kiku's smile was softening or something.

"…You may drink, my little Blood warrior."

* * *

><p>"As harebrained as always, Yong Soo, aru," the golden-eyed man with long hair neatly gathered in a ponytail and secured with a gold clasp in the shape of a peony was saying as he stood upon the edge of a warehouse roof.<p>

"Aniki, such impatience…" Yong Soo, he of the wide smile and mischievous eyes, chuckled. "You are already the most powerful among our siblings, so bloodbaths like these are just games to you. For me, they are already works of art, _da ze_~!" He laughed with impish glee, the unruly curl protruding from his hair bobbing.

"Hmmph." The golden eyes of the other narrowed in distaste. "Yong Soo, aru, I think that it's not particularly wrong to give you free rein over these kinds of things, but…" He smirked. "Once I find solid evidence that points you out as one of the people who had sent an army of Zombies to attack Kiku's army not long ago, I may be the first one to give you the death you so deserve, aru yo."

"Ah, aniki, so serious!" Yong Soo grinned darkly. "Yao of the golden eyes, the only one in the family who had those coveted eyes that can kill with a single look… I should think that you are wiser than to accuse me of that!"

Yao of the White Peony, he of the legendary golden eyes that kill from afar, hummed with a glare and said, "I must go. The fun is over. I just came to warn you, aru." He looked back. "Ivan!"

A gigantic figure materialized from the dark shadows, a man with pale hair and piercing violet eyes and a creepy smile, a scarf around his neck and a rusty water pipe in one hand that was scraping along the ground. The sight sent Yong Soo chills to the bone.

"We are ready to go, _da_?" Ivan said cheerily.

"Take care, aniki," Yong Soo called after them with a sigh.

"I'll take care of him," Ivan promised Yong Soo, with a childish giggle that made Yong Soo's hairs stand on end. "I am the Blood warrior here after all, _da_?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I just knew that when God made evil rain down on earth, this chapter caught it all on its ending.**  
><strong>Review. I wanna know how this chapter struck you!<strong>

**Thank you to all who alerted, reviewed, and at least read this little baby! New characters next chapter~!**

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Herakles meets an android named Ludwig and brings him back to the house to be repaired. In return, he does odd jobs around the house. But what is his real purpose? Will Kiku and Alfred be able to find out before it is too late?


	7. Recollections

_**Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite? **__  
><em>_(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)__  
><em>

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><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Kiku was attacked by three Werewolves at night and he and his team managed to take them down. Antonio fought for his pride, while Alfred was reminded again that he is a warrior protecting Kiku's life.<p>

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, Black!Kiku, android!Ludwig, and a vampire!Francis. Didn't expect that, huh?

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

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><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Herakles meets an android named Ludwig and brings him back to the house to be repaired. In return, he does odd jobs around the house. But what is his real purpose? Will Kiku and Alfred be able to find out before it is too late?

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

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><p><em><strong>Seventh Drop of Blood:<strong>__  
><em>_Recollections_

* * *

><p><em>In the desert under the fiery red sun, there was a giant monster living apart from the rest of the world.<em>

_ One morning, it woke up and heard the ringing of nomads in the distance, and involuntarily it shouted inside—_

I want to see the ocean. I want to find love someday.

_ The truth is, monsters have hearts too._

* * *

><p>"Here is your change!"<p>

"…Thanks."

"Please come again!"

Herakles carefully counted the coins that the shopkeeper gave him and proceeded to walk home, carrying a bag of vegetables on one arm and a cat on his shoulder.

"How surprising. Aren't you an android?"

Herakles looked up from examining his purchases when he heard the slight German accent and saw a tall blond man staring directly at him, with very fair skin and light blue eyes, and a cap that hung low on his eyes so that the left eye was covered completely. He also looked unusually stern. Immediately suspicious, Herakles decided not to talk to the stranger and instead walked past him. Besides, Kiku might be feeling quite murderous today and break him in two if he dallied for too long.

"Wait!" the blond called out to him, flustered. "I think you might know where I can find someone to fix me…"

Herakles stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, his sleepy face still the same. The cat on his shoulder meowed.

The blond stranger had taken his cap off and revealed damages on his left eye and on the area surrounding it, the mechanism below the broken metal skin exposed.

"My name is Ludwig. I gave it that name to myself. I'm an android from the Kingdom." The blond sighed. "If you may be so kind…"

* * *

><p>"Entschuldigen Sie bitte," the android named Ludwig said uncomfortably to Kiku as Herakles plugged Ludwig on the programmer and examined the damages on his face. They were in Herakles' room, which was a bit cluttered with complex equipment and with cats. "I didn't know that this was the house of Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum."<p>

"I have no need for such formalities, and frankly, it doesn't matter," Kiku said, who was calmly watching the process on the side as Herakles did his task. "But certainly it is unusual to see an android living alone in the midst of the human world…"

Ludwig bowed his head apologetically. Kiku sighed and turned searching eyes on Ludwig's face.

"Fine. You're heavily damaged and you need repairs. I'm letting you stay here and have Hera-chan fix you." Kiku turned on his heel, long silk sleeves fluttering noiselessly, and strode out.

"Danke schön," Ludwig burst out.

He distinctly heard a ripple of amused laughter from the prince. "Bitte schön, Ludwig."

Once Ludwig was sure that Kiku was out of earshot, he told Herakles, who was typing something on a computer, "Your master seems like a strange person. It's as if he can see through anything."

Herakles didn't bother to reply, but Ludwig assumed he had heard him and understood.

"By the way, I have something here…" Ludwig dug in his pocket and retrieved a small white sea shell. Herakles looked at him with something like sleepy puzzlement. "It's an ordinary sea shell, but…" He put it on his ear, and sighed heavily. "It brings back a lot of memories… It reminds me that even androids have rights…

"I was one of the androids working in the mines for the Kingdom of the Rising Sun. I've worked there for twenty-seven years. But one day I escaped…

"I walked for miles, day after day, across the wide desert… until I saw it." Ludwig smiled slightly, and clutched the shell to his heart. "The ocean…!

"The feelings then cannot be explained…" Ludwig held out the shell to Herakles, and the latter took it blankly. "That's all I have. Please take it as a token of my thanks."

"But…" Herakles scowled slightly at the other and made as if to return it. Ludwig shook his head with a serious look.

"It's okay. I want you to have it." Ludwig drew his legs to his chest and breathed heavily. "And I wish that all of us androids realize that we are actually free beings also…"

* * *

><p>The full moon glowed brightly as Arthur strolled by the town's general hospital. Looking up, he saw the dark figure sitting on its rooftop and frowned, his huge eyebrows drawing closer to each other. He climbed up the building by way of the window sills, curious as to the meaning of his walk tonight.<p>

When he reached the rooftop, he glared at the shadowy figure standing on the edge of the roof and said irritably, "So you're the one who called me? I have no business with you."

"O honhonhon!" The shadowy figure strolled in the moonlight, revealing a man with wavy chin-length hair and mischievous blue eyes and wearing a dark blue cloak that covered his whole body. "As impolite as the reports say, eh, the famous Arthur Kirkland?"

Arthur snorted. "Hmph. And who are you, if I may ask? Besides the fact that you manage this hospital, I have no other idea about your identity."

The other chuckled. "Ah, don't be like that, mon ami. Two vampires in the same area—we should get along!" He bowed to Arthur with a majestic air and winked flirtatiously, making Arthur wince. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy, and to establish good relations with you, I'll show you something that'll interest you mightily!"

* * *

><p>"I'm home…" Alfred shrugged off his customary bomber jacket and slung it over one shoulder before seeing the strange android in front of him who was cleaning the floorboards with the vacuum cleaner.<p>

"Welcome back," the blond android said, bowing his head lightly. His face was already fully repaired.

"Er… who are you—?" Alfred was about to ask, when Antonio burst into the room and brought a ray of sunshine to the entrance hall.

"¡_Buenos tardes, Alfredo_!" he hollered, smiling brightly. "Oh, Ludwig! That's the señorito's Blood warrior… His name is Alfred Jones. Got it?"

Ludwig nodded seriously and turned the vacuum cleaner off. "Successfully recorded in my memory."

Just then, Herakles walked into the entrance hall and told Ludwig, "We should… clean the… basement next…"

"Right." Ludwig turned back to the other two and said, "I must go. Nice to meet you, Alfred Jones."

Alfred and Antonio silently watched the pair of androids go in the direction of the basement.

"Uh…" Alfred frowned. "What is he doing here…?"

"No idea. Herakles picked him up somewhere and led him here."

Alfred nodded thoughtfully. "I see…"

Antonio stalked off and left Alfred standing all by himself while muttering, "Ay… I just can't understand androids…"

* * *

><p>"This Butterkuchen is good," Kiku remarked after finishing the last of his dessert, his dark eyes lost in thought as he put the fork down.<p>

Matthew smiled shyly and shifted his feet uneasily. "Actually, Ludwig here helped me make it."

Kiku reached for the deep purple table napkin placed on his lap and wiped his mouth, waiting for Matthew to carry the dishes down in the kitchen before turning to Ludwig and saying, "According to Hera-chan, something in your head was damaged due to long-term exposure. You went traveling, but didn't get any maintenance done, so you're now in this state. At most you have one year left. You also need spare parts."

Ludwig's light blue eyes looked particularly downcast at the news.

"So what will you do?" Kiku's dark eyes would have bored holes in Ludwig's blue ones if they could. "Back in the Kingdom, there would be sufficient materials and professionals who'll be able to take care of you perfectly. Decide."

Ludwig bowed his head to Kiku sadly. "I'm just a mere android, and it's been an honor to have you spend thus much effort on me… I'm truly grateful. So tomorrow I shall leave. I know that once I go back to the Kingdom, my memories will be erased. And my memories… are my heart." He sighed deeply. "So I shall continue my travels."

Kiku rose from the low table to exit the room. "Then do as you please."

Ludwig smiled slightly. "Thank you again."

Kiku scowled and stood up, the silver threads on his black kimono catching the light and enhancing his somewhat odd look at the android.

* * *

><p>Francis smiled smugly at Arthur as the Englishman dangled his legs over the edge of the rooftop. The Frenchman was holding out a pocket watch and was staring at it with an eager expression.<p>

"So what's this surprise you're planning to show me?" Arthur said with a bored tone.

"Now, now, don't be impatient, little Arthur!" Francis said with a laugh. "It should be starting around this time of night already." He stood beside Arthur and smirked slyly at him. "And while we wait, tell me something about the rumors that were flitting around the town… They say that you are now close to Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum! All the bats are talking about it… Honhonhon! How delicious is he, hm? Is his skin—"

"Tch." Arthur rolled his green eyes at Francis's suggestive tone. "Stop implying outrageous things, git! I'm not that close to him. I was just repaying my debt to him. Now we no longer owe each other anything. And I haven't even tasted his Blood yet. A pity. He smelled so mouthwatering…"

"Ah, is that so?" Francis sighed melodramatically. "Well, on the other hand, I still owe Kiku-sama, but…" He grinned and bared his sharp fangs. "…I'm about to settle that debt."

* * *

><p>It was past 1:00 am when Ludwig's blue eyes snapped open and began glowing a dull red. He unplugged himself from the alcove and the virus acted.<p>

**Initializing**…

Ludwig walked noiselessly along the hallways as the program initialization finished quickly.

**Searching for target**…

The map installed in his eyes showed him a blinking marker in the sitting room area. The android walked faster, going up the stairs and exploring the second level to the room. He slowly slid the door open—

—And was instantly met by a flail lashing at him and hitting his chest, only to rebound on the metal.

"So it was no use at all," Kiku muttered as Herakles beside him easily caught the head of the flail before it went back to hit Kiku.

Ludwig stared blankly at Kiku with red eyes, analyzing the data stream in his head.

**Objective: _Capture the prince_**…

"Your personality wasn't bad," Kiku continued on, "but there was one thing I didn't understand. That was the fact that you kept harping on about freedom."

Kiku crossed his arms and glared at Ludwig. "I've never seen an android with a free will before in all my life—!"

Ludwig's only answer was to rush at Kiku, but Herakles immediately stepped forward and grabbed at Ludwig's arms, resulting in a bout of grappling. Kiku was startled when Ludwig easily pushed Herakles along the tatami mats, despite the fact that Herakles was not lacking in force, and more so when Ludwig suddenly grabbed Herakles around the waist and threw him out through the shoji and on the ground one level below.

_He easily lifted and threw my Hera-chan, who weighed tons…_!

"Hera-chan!" Kiku ran to the torn shoji and saw Herakles's battered and damaged body among the bushes. Kiku wasn't surprised about the damage—he was more surprised in the fact that Herakles's weight hadn't caused a mini-crater when he first hit the ground.

Kiku's breath was knocked out of him when Ludwig grabbed him next and slung the prince's slender silk-clad form over his shoulder as if Kiku was a rag doll.

_Oh… no…_

Ludwig carried Kiku out of the room and down the hallway, meeting a startled Antonio and Alfred.

"What's causing all the racket earlier—? Wait—Ludwig, what are you doing to the señorito?" Antonio asked with wide eyes as he realized what Ludwig was carrying slung on his shoulder.

Ludwig just walked past the two of them, ignoring them completely.

"Oy!" Antonio was ready to rush, but Kiku weakly waved his arms out to them, wordlessly telling Antonio to stop.

"Normal attacks won't have any effect on androids, Antonio-san," Kiku said with as much dignity as he could muster while his line of sight was upside-down. Alfred would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. "We can't do anything about it…"

Antonio was enraged. "How could you say that so calmly?" he snarled, jaws clenching with a snap. "Where is that android's switch?"

"You guys seem to be having some difficulties!" a voice said farther down the hallway. Alfred's and Antonio's jaws dropped when they saw that the voice belonged to Xiao Chun, who looked smug as his android Sadık rushed and delivered a smashing roundhouse kick at Ludwig, making the berserk android drop Kiku on the floor. Luckily, Kiku had anticipated the fall and had managed to land on the ground safely without breaking his neck.

"You finally came, Xiao Chun," Kiku said with a smile, picking himself up from the floor.

Xiao Chun rolled his eyes and grumbled, "You owe me a nice big Blood pudding for waking me up in the middle of the night, onii-sama."

Kiku smirked. "Hmph. I'll think about it. Arthur Kirkland might like the idea. After all, puddings made with Royal Blood…"

Xiao Chun crossed his arms and sighed. "Filthy Vampires…"

Alfred, meanwhile, was watching Ludwig sit up and look around the two princes, slight confusion in his face.  
>He must have been given general directions only, Alfred realized. And that is to "capture the prince".<p>

But Kiku and Xiao Chun are both princes, and thus the android was confused, since he wanted to follow his instructions to the letter.

"Hey! That out-of-control android over there!" Xiao Chun hollered. The android was still looking around the two brothers. "My stupid Sadık is somehow different from onii-sama's cat-loving sleepyhead Herakles. He is more concentrated on the battle program. So get ready!"

* * *

><p>"Ha. What now, Frenchy?" Arthur said sarcastically as the wind got stiffer. They were still on top of the hospital building. "Your plan didn't work as promised, after all…"<p>

Francis smiled with some regret.

"I guess you were the one who went and injected that virus in that Ludwig android thing," Arthur went on with a smirk that let the tips of his fangs peek out from under his upper lip. "How dirty!"

"Oh, Arthur, so you don't understand my way of thinking?" Francis chuckled. "Honhonhon, I admit that my plan tonight was just too simple to thwart… but next time, I'll be sure to get Kiku-sama… whether his Blood or his virginity, it's all one for me…"

"You're a fucking disgusting frog, you know that?" Arthur said with a sarcastic smile. "You know that I only bite virgins, so now you're planning to get his purity? How cunning can you get?"

Francis let out a booming laugh. "I'm just jesting with you, Arthur. I wouldn't want to do something that'll displease you now, would I?"

Arthur snorted. "Whatever. I'll be looking forward to your results." He stood up and glared at Francis. "See you around, frog."

He let himself fall on the edge of the rooftop, leaving Francis chuckling with sheer amusement at Arthur's territorial tendencies.

"But I admit it'll be interesting for a Vampire to bed a member of the Royalty," Francis muttered with a laugh. "Well, we Vampires take what we can."

* * *

><p>"How is it, Sadık?" Xiao Chun asked as Sadık tinkered with the fallen Herakles and Ludwig in Herakles's room.<p>

Sadık just shook his head gloomily, although it was hard to discern under his mask.

Kiku scowled while watching. "How ironic that short-lived Ludwig can be repaired, while my Hera-chan cannot be because of lack of parts…" He sighed and gently tugged the hem of his kimono from Pochi-kun's questing teeth, who had somehow found out that expensive silk is a good cloth to chew on.

Xiao Chun was examining something on the computer. "Onii-sama, I found something of interest in Ludwig's memory chip." He read the words that were on the screen. "It says that he's been functioning for twenty-seven years already, but in the analysis, he's been actually alive for only ten hours." Xiao Chun gave Kiku a triumphant look. "That means that this is a lie planned by some third party to get you!"

"Kiku-sama…"

Kiku's head snapped up to look at Ludwig, who was staring at him with his now-blue eyes.

"You're actually awake?" Kiku said, tilting his head to the left.

Xiao Chun shrugged nonchalantly. "I started up his program just now. I think it's better for him to know about himself."

Kiku said nothing for a few moments, merely fixing his x-ray look at Ludwig until the android spoke.

"Kiku-sama, use my body and fix Herakles," he said weakly, blue eyes constricted. "I have committed a grave crime against you. And compared to Herakles, I have nothing more than a year to live… It's better for him to live than worthless me…"

Kiku bowed his head in thought. "Ludwig," he finally said with a smile, "if you had just been mortal, I would have made you a Blood warrior."

* * *

><p>The dead of the night held many secrets. The moon is glowing ever so brightly.<p>

Ludwig strolled leisurely to the general hospital, a blank look in his red eyes. He disregarded the locked glass doors of the hospital, merely punching a hole through to shatter the thick glass. He walked along the ghostly darkness of the corridors as if he had walked along the way all his life and had memorized it.

He stopped by a certain door in the top floor of the building, and flung it open. Inside the dark office was a desk and behind it, a blond man with wavy hair and blue eyes, drinking a glass filled with rich red liquid while watching the moon outside the windows—the Vampire, Francis Bonnefoy.

"Everything… was you?"

The words spilled out with some hurt from the android, and Francis looked around from his reverie with an expectant smile. The Vampire stood up and surveyed Ludwig carefully, the wineglass delicately held in one hand.

"Please, call me your _créateur_," Francis said with a playful smile.

Ludwig raised his shirt slowly to reveal a bomb timer on his stomach, ticking a time limit of thirty seconds.

Francis's smile widened. "Hm."

"Tell me," Ludwig said in a deadly tone, "all my memories… they…"

Francis threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing around the room. "That's right. They were all by me. Your life… is a little romance that I wrote."

_Fifteen seconds left_…

"But—the mine! The desert!" Ludwig found himself asking desperately, as if seeking for reassurance. "The ocean—!" He was clutching the hem of his shirt. "The shell!"

"I even gave you a little prop, non?" Francis said with amusement. "Don't you get it? It was all fabricated by me, Ludwig…!"

_Seven seconds_…

"You… are despicable…" Ludwig found himself muttering in extreme rage and loss.

"Honhonhon!" Francis chuckled. "To me… you are just a piece of junk!"

_One second_…

_I want to see the ocean… I want to find love someday_…

And on the distant hill where a certain house was erected, the prince Kiku and the android Herakles watched solemnly as they saw a room in the top floor of the city's general hospital exploded in the quiet of the night.

* * *

><p>Herakles was pruning the bushes in the front yard of the house when Matthew went out and told him, "When you're done with that, go inside. Ouji-sama wants to talk to you about something, I think…"<p>

Herakles just nodded slowly and put down the shears as Matthew ran back inside, but didn't go inside immediately. He felt in his pocket for the sea shell that Ludwig had given him, and for the first time, held it against his ear. The crashing sounds of the ocean waves sounded in his ear, and he remembered Ludwig's words after giving him the shell.

"…_I wish that all of us androids realize that we are actually free beings also…_"

Herakles sighed softly and listened for a while, but then an irritated shout came from inside the house.

"_Hera-chan_! Come here at once!"

Herakles immediately put his shell in his pocket again and picked up the cat that was sleeping on his foot with a sigh. He knew that he was an android, and as long as his master was in the midst of this battle for the Throne, he had to protect Kiku.

And again, Kiku might be feeling quite murderous today and break him in two if he dallied for too long.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hahah. Francis is so baaad.**

**Review! Review! Again I plead you!**

**I want to know what tou think of this story!**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: The pharaoh Gupta, given the promise of eternal life upon Kiku's death, sends his army of mummies to attack Kiku. Kiku having taken drowsy cold medicine before knowing about the pending attack entrusts his life with Alfred. Can Alfred fulfill his duty as a Blood warrior of Kiku at last?


	8. Attrition

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Herakles met an android named Ludwig and brought him back to the house and had him repaired, but they found out that he has a more sinister mission—that of kidnapping Kiku for his Blood. Luckily, Xiao Chun comes to save the day, and Ludwig, illuminated and heartbroken, returns to his master Francis to self-destruct in front of him.<p>

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, Pharaoh!Gupta (Teehee. Yep.), and the much-awaited return of the chainsaw, albeit momentarily. Although in this chapter, its twin is included in the scene. :D

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

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><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: The pharaoh Gupta, given the promise of eternal life upon Kiku's death, sends his army of mummies to attack Kiku. Kiku having taken drowsy cold medicine before knowing about the pending attack entrusts his life with Alfred. Can Alfred fulfill his duty as a Blood warrior of Kiku at last?

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

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><p><strong><em>Eighth Drop of Blood:<em>**  
><em>Attrition<em>

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><p>It was raining hard in the afternoon when Alfred saw Arthur and Elizaveta Héderváry, a classmate of theirs, still in their homeroom. Alfred had just returned to pick up his umbrella because he was supposed to pick Kiku and Herakles up at the train station, and there they were, the scene blowing his errand out of his mind. Arthur seemed to be pressing his lips on Elizaveta's hand, while Elizaveta looked weirdly blank as she told him something, her usually vibrant brown eyes as empty as windows in an abandoned house. Alfred immediately knew that Arthur was up to his mischievous tricks again.<p>

He knocked on the door and went in. Elizaveta ceased speaking and shot him a blank glance, but Arthur didn't even look around, keeping his lips on Elizaveta's hand.

"Hey, Arthur. What are you doing to Elizaveta?" Alfred asked suspiciously, picking up his umbrella from the rack by the door. Arthur finally turned around and glanced at Alfred with a smile. Alfred saw with a shudder that blood was trickling from a wound on Elizaveta's finger and a smudge of blood on the corner of Arthur's lip. Seeing him staring there, Arthur slowly licked it away and smiled at him calmly.

"Hmph… I was right, it's only you."

Alfred snorted. "What if it wasn't me? You'd be in deep waters. The people in here aren't really used to see Vampires in action, ya know."

Arthur glanced at Elizaveta with amusement. "Hm. Not really. I'll hypnotize accidental witnesses too like poor Lizzie here. And excuse me, but you've interrupted an interesting news that she was telling me earlier. If you please explain it from the top again for Alfred, Miss Héderváry?" He then resumed his sucking on Elizaveta's wound.

"You're a terrible flirt," Alfred muttered.

"You know about the news about a rumored pervert that was circulating around the girls…?" Elizaveta said in a very relaxed tone. Alfred frowned, since she was usually very bubbly and almost always ended her sentences in exclamation points. Quite literally. "Well… They say it's a man wrapped from head to toe in bandages… and then, he also wears a trench coat and a hat…"

Arthur drew his lips from Elizaveta and laughed lightly. "That would make him some kind of an Egyptian mummy, right?"

Elizaveta smiled blandly. "But wouldn't that make you a vampire…? Then wouldn't I be turned into one too…?"

Arthur shot an amused look at Alfred, who looked startled. "Hm, really? That's why I didn't bite you, Lizzie. Sucking a little is enough for me…"

Alfred was a bit disturbed when usually-inquisitive Elizaveta dropped it with just that. "…I see…"

* * *

><p>"D'you always do that?" Alfred grumbled as Arthur and him walked home together, the rain pattering on his umbrella with relaxing sounds. "Sucking blood from our female classmates after hypnotizing them?"<p>

Arthur's green eyes were mischievous. "Hmph. Maybe?" He walked ahead of Alfred, his own dark blue umbrella out. Alfred had noticed many times that Arthur's things were mostly dark in color. "But don't you also get blood from Kiku-sama?" He snickered when Alfred blushed with embarrassment. "So what's it like, mister hypocrite?"

"…" Alfred frowned. "That's not what it really…"

Arthur cut him off. "Royal Blood, and on top of that, he's a virgin! Oh, I envy you, you lucky bastard." He smiled widely as Alfred's blush went deeper at the last two statements. "So… What does his Blood taste like～?"

"Don't ask me something like that—!" Alfred protested, when someone bumped into him. He turned around to apologize, but paused when he saw that it was a man that exactly fit Elizaveta's description of the "pervert"—the trench coat, the hat, and most important, those suspicious bandages that wrapped him from head to foot.

Arthur was also surprised at the appearance of the Mummy. "Oh?"

The Mummy opened its mind and said viciously, "So I finally found you… Blood warrior!"

"—Eh?"

* * *

><p>The bottom half of Kiku's face was hidden under a white handkerchief as he blew his nose delicately, his usually pale cheeks dusted with a slight red. Alfred was shocked at the fact that he forgot his original errand.<p>

"I'm sorry…!" he gasped with a guilty look on his face.

Kiku sneezed twice in quick succession before answering, making Alfred wince. "What's not done is not done." Herakles draped a blanket over Kiku's shoulders, and stared at Alfred blankly as Kiku proceeded to take some cold medicine that Matthew had brought in with Kiku's afternoon tea. Alfred thought that even the android's gaze was slightly accusing.

"Uh…" Alfred smiled tentatively at the pair of them. Kiku sipped his tea calmly and stared at him.

"Enough already, Alfred," Kiku began, crossing his arms uncomfortably. "From what I've heard from your story, so you ran from that with your tail behind your legs, hm?" He even cracked a highly amused smile that faded immediately.

Alfred frowned at the reference, but otherwise nodded at the prince.

Kiku looked at Alfred with a cross expression. "I think it was a Mummy," he said bluntly.

Alfred smiled at Kiku brightly. "I think it was, too! All those Hollywood shit an' stuff."

"You don't get what I mean, do you?" Kiku said with a sigh, making Alfred puzzled. "I'm just kidding, _baka_."

"But it was all covered in bandages…" Alfred scratched his head. "Ehh…"

"That's not what I meant." Kiku sighed, then lowered his head and coughed. "That creature you saw was probably just a scout." He then looked up, and Alfred saw one of Kiku's most beautiful smiles, the one which tells you to prepare for a war. "They're coming. The Pharaoh, Gupta's army!"

* * *

><p>The night was sleeping, and everything was silent. And a dark outline was etched ominously against the moon, that of something with four legs…?<p>

The grass that lined Kiku's front lawn was rustling. Bandaged forms slithered out of the ground and proceeded slowly towards the house, but not before a Molotov cocktail fell in their midst and exploded, fire erupting on and around the Mummies and engulfing the front lawn with a crimson ring of fire.

"That's a Mummy for ya!" Antonio declared, grinning at the sight of the fire. "They burn real well!"

Alfred watched in amazement as the fire burned brightly. They were all perched on the front verandah of the second floor, their shadowy forms surrounded by passive-looking Molotov cocktails.

"Have you succeeded in getting Matthew-san out of the vicinity of the house?" Kiku asked Alfred with slightly unfocused eyes.

"I had a hard time convincing him, but yup, I had gone and done it." Alfred frowned. "But shouldn't we have all evacuated?"

Kiku snorted and spread his arm out, indicating the mass of Mummies crawling on their way to them. "Humph. It's a little too late for that now."

Antonio laughed. "Happy fiesta!"

* * *

><p>"I wonder if it's started now?"<p>

Arthur Kirkland licked his bottom lip. "This event should be pretty interesting. The individually weak Mummies will team up and attack."

He proceeded to go out of his house, but before he could take another step out of his doorway, he felt gentle drops hit him on the head. Arthur looked up and saw that it was already raining.

"It's raining?" He grimaced with disappointment. "What a pity! It seems like I'll be spending the night inside then…"

* * *

><p>Antonio threw Molotov after Molotov, catching a few Mummies and making them explode with fire, but the rain was quickly pouring down, drenching everything in sight.<p>

"This isn't good, señorito…" Antonio yelled at Kiku, who was kneeling passively on the tatami and watching Pochi with dull eyes. "They're not burning just as well as before!"

"That's because the rain soaking through their bandages are making it tough for the fire to burn," Kiku said calmly, draping a rich silver hanten that Herakles had brought over himself to keep warm.

Alfred watched with worried eyes as some Mummies finally reached the front door and began attempting to wreck it, making loud banging noises.

"They're going to get in!" he alerted the others.

* * *

><p>The Mummies proceeded up the stairs slowly, their feet dragging slowly along the wooden steps. They were almost at the top landing when—<p>

"Take this—!"

Antonio's huge paw whipped out of nowhere and ripped a Mummy to shreds, bandages torn to ribbons and sending the shocked Mummy down the stairs while dragging a good number of his fellows along.

Antonio was amazed. "What's up with these guys? They're so weak!"

Another Mummy stepped forward, a knife held in one outstretched arm as it prepared to attack. Antonio quickly snapped into focus and sent a smashing kick onto the Mummy's chest, toppling it off balance and taking the rest of the Mummies who hadn't fallen yet.

Herakles, who was next to Antonio in an instant, flung a Molotov at them and made the pile of tangled Mummies burst into flames.

"Hera-chan," Kiku scolded him gently. "Don't use the Molotov inside the house."

Antonio whistled. "Those guys are nothing special, really. They're all so weak!"

Kiku nodded lightly. "Their numbers are the only problem."

* * *

><p>The siege went far into the night, the pressing wave of Mummies crowding upon them inch by inch.<p>

"Tsk!" Antonio hissed as he smashed a gigantic paw on a Mummy's head and snapped it off cleanly.

Herakles began throwing Mummies out of the window to catch their fellows, but more kept coming in through the other windows. Antonio snarled threateningly as their group was slowly backed into a corner, with the crowd of Undead pressing in upon them.

"Shit!" Antonio spat, a growl ripping from his throat. "There's no end to this!"

Alfred was being strangled by a Mummy, but Herakles picked up the sword hanging on the wall and struck the Mummy on the head with the sheath. The Mummy's head fell off and it burst into smoke.

Antonio sighed. "This has totally become a war of attrition!"

Alfred noticed Kiku slowly slumped to the wall, his eyes drooping shut. The Blood warrior's eyes were blanking out into deep blue orbs as his Blood master's life was threatened.

"Kiku!" he called, and Kiku looked up, forcing his eyes to stay awake.

Come here. The unspoken command rang strong in his ears and he obeyed, leaning closer as Kiku ran a slender finger on the blade of Herakles's sword, which the android had unsheathed, bright red Blood running down from the wound. Kiku wordlessly touched the finger on Alfred's bottom lip, and Alfred's tongue snaked out and tasted the Blood dripping from it. When had Kiku's Blood become so addicting?

Alfred noticed that the Blood was burning a slightly fiercer red than the last time he saw it, and Kiku smiled at his confusion.

"A Royalty's Blood gets a vivider red as he or she approaches his or her twenties, Alfred," he murmured, drawing his finger away. "And listen… I am going to sleep now…"

Alfred's eyes widened with disbelief. "Huh?"

Antonio let out an irritated snap. "We're in the middle of a battle, señorito! And you're going to sleep now?"

Kiku ignored Antonio and stared at Alfred severely. "You're my Blood warrior." His eyes drooped again and finally closed. "I—leave my life… in your hands… until… morning…"

"Kiku…" Alfred's dull blue eyes glowed darkly as a Mummy struck at his back with a sword, ripping his skin uncleanly, but the Blood immediately began to repair the skin until it was as good as new. Alfred stood up slowly and turned around with a dangerous light in his expression, snatching an ax discarded on the floor and swinging it around on the attacker, tearing the Mummy in two neat halves and making the Mummy disperse into smoke.

Antonio was dumbfounded. "Alfredo—"

Another Mummy lashed out, its sword slicing at Alfred's shoulder. Alfred took no heed on the wound as the Blood began healing it, and swung the ax on the Mummy. He ripped the head off, smoke bursting everywhere.

Alfred stood in the midst of the carnage, blank blue eyes narrowed in intense danger. "Understood, _Kiku-dono_…" And his lips quirked in a sadistic smile that made Antonio break out in chills.

"Alfredo…" Antonio said slowly as awe made his jaw drop. "You—"

Alfred, the only Blood warrior of Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum, swung the ax between his hands in a horrific parody of his master, the bloodthirsty smile still in place. "I'll make sure that none of the bastards will touch a hair of His head."

Someone in the crowd of Mummies snidely called out, "That's right Alfred… When dawn comes, wake him up with a kiss… Ha ha ha!"

Alfred's sardonic smile widened slightly, and suddenly lunged at the Mummies with the ax, starting the battle once more.

* * *

><p>Sunlight struck Kiku's pale eyelids as morning finally came, making the prince wake up with a start. He stood up slowly and saw the mess of bandages on the floor, along with Alfred and Antonio who were both lying on their faces on the floor, totally worn out. Herakles was the only one awake, staring at Kiku with his usual faintly uninterested expression.<p>

Kiku chuckled lightly, and narrowed his beautifully dark eyes. "The Pharaoh's fun will be over soon…"

* * *

><p>Kiku's black lacquered zori made soft clacking sounds as he proceeded across the stone path that stretched across the lawn from the front door to the gate. A Mummy who somehow survived looked around and saw the prince. It immediately lunged forward.<p>

Kiku swung the chainsaw that he held in his left hand at the Mummy, making it burst into a thousand wisps of smoke.

He looked up, seeing the dark four-legged figure etched clearly against the blue morning sky. He murmured, "By the Blood of the Golden Chrysanthemum, I order you to come down…" He let out a sigh escape his parted lips. "…Pharaoh."

The figure descended slowly, revealing it to be a carriage lifted by four attendants. The Pharaoh Gupta looked at Kiku with blank eyes, a heqa-scepter in his hands as opposed to Kiku's two chainsaws. The two locked eyes, two Royalties from two very different worlds, one a teenage boy fighting for the Throne that will give him power over not just one, but thousands of worlds, and the other an Undead warrior seeking eternal life.

Kiku smiled mirthlessly. "I do not know if you fell for one of my brothers too, but I admire your honor. You have lost most of your troops, yet you didn't run away."

Gupta didn't answer, instead holding out the heqa-scepter in a threatening gesture.

Kiku held up his two raging chainsaws, and smirked. "I guess words will just be wasted on you, so…"

Without further warning, the two lunged at each other, each portraying a shadow prepared to meet its possible end.

Kiku was deceivingly fast, the chainsaws moving in perfect harmony like a huge pair of shears to severe Gupta's head and sending it rolling on the grass, the leftover stump of the neck gushing forth a fountain of blood.

Kiku felt the Pharaoh's body fell silently to the ground, and stood passively, paying the corpse little attention as he walked to the koi pond to ponder on this another death.

"It is a bloody death," he mused coldly.

His reflection stared back at him, gentle dark eyes warm and vulnerable. "_Indeed_."

Kiku sighed. "I am not the innocent plaything of my siblings anymore."

The gentle eyes turned into cold, mocking ones. "_Yes. I am not weak little Kiku anymore_."

"I am Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum." Kiku tilted his head and smiled sweetly at reflection-Kiku, who smiled too. "The flower of death is my name."

* * *

><p>Alfred, now back to normal, slumbered uneasily under the covers, his face pale with a fever. Matthew watched his brother confusedly after retrieving the thermometer and getting a good long look at it.<p>

"This is really puzzling," Matthew mumbled to himself, tugging at an unruly strand of hair as he put the thermometer on the nightstand. "Yesterday, I suddenly get a free leave, then when I get back, everything in the house is in chaos—! And to top it all, Al came down with a fever… What on earth really happened?"

Alfred opened his eyes and looked at Matt blearily. "…Matt?"

"Oh, you're awake!" Matt proceeded to give Alfred some tea and remarked, "Uh, Al? I just remembered, but here's this," and he showed Alfred a deeply yellow chrysanthemum with a thin paper tag attached to it. "This was left on your desk. It's a golden chrysanthemum, right? From whom did it come from?"  
>Alfred suddenly shot up in bed and grabbed the flower, reading the inscription on the tag.<p>

_Even the blossoming flowers will soon wither. Kiku._

Alfred pondered about that.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Did you love Black!Alfred?**

**Hahaha! Besides Lili, there's another new character inserted in the mix. Guess who? He's also a Werewolf!**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Yacht. Ocean. What next? Kiku encounters the strangest and most mysterious creature that they will ever encounter in the shape of Lili. But what is the most unusual thing that they will find out about her? Aside from the fact that she apparently lures ships to her lair to destroy them?


	9. Ocean

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>The pharaoh Gupta, given the promise of eternal life upon Kiku's death, sent his army of mummies to attack Kiku. However, Kiku had taken drowsy cold medicine before knowing about the pending attack and entrusted his life with Alfred, who successfully defended him. As a mark of his gratitude, Kiku gives him a strange golden chrysanthemum that doesn't wither.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, Mermaid!Lili, aaaaand… Werewolf!NorthItaly. You shoulda seen that one comin'!

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Yacht. Ocean. What next? Kiku encounters the strangest and most mysterious creature that they will ever encounter in the shape of Lili. But what is the most unusual thing that they will find out about her? Aside from the fact that she apparently lures ships to her lair to destroy them?

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ninth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Ocean<em>

* * *

><p>The slap of the waves against the side of the yacht kept Alfred serene as he dangled a fishing line from the edge. Antonio was sunbathing nearby, wearing red shorts, while Kiku was watching the serene waters of the ocean, his dark eyes thoughtful as he stared off.<p>

Antonio finished baking himself and went to the yacht's controls to check up on things, when he saw something on the radar that made him yell out, "There's a rescue signal coming from somewhere!"

Kiku frowned and looked around. "Rescue signal?"

* * *

><p>The night wore on slowly but surely as the small ship cruised on, the stiff winds sending out stronger waves as it drove on.<p>

"Captain!" The petty officer at the radar was puzzled as he watched the screen. "The signal just disappeared!"

"What!" The captain of the ship looked at the radar with wide eyes. "No way…! They sank just before we can rescue them…?"

The petty officer shook his head disbelievingly. "They were registered on the radar up until just now. That can't be!"

The captain sighed. "Never mind. We've followed the signal. We've already fulfilled our duty—!"

Just then the officer gasped and pointed out of the window. "Look at that!"

The captain was shocked. "Where did it come from?" he said loudly.

The petty officer watched the radar screen in shock. "It's not showing up on radar!"

"Wha—?"

The rest of the crew watched in horror as they saw the large cruiser ship looming over their little ship.

"We're going to collide!"

"I know! All engines, to starboard!"

"We're not going to make it!"

From aboard the huge ship, Kiku, Alfred, and Antonio watched silently as the other ship collided hard and sank, leaving the surface of the water with a gurgle.

"…It sank…" Alfred muttered.

"Yeah…" Antonio sighed.

Kiku smiled lightly. "Ironically, they sank the same way like us."

Antonio crinkled his brow. "Yeah… this ship sent out a signal to us, then we foolishly went and it suddenly disappeared from the radar and appeared right before the yacht. Then we collided with it, and it ended with me leaping you two up to this ship. And you two combined were freaking heavy!"

Then his head suddenly snapped up and cocked his ear thoughtfully, listening to the quietness intently. "Wait…" he said slowly. "I— I think I've heard this sound before…"

Alfred scowled and adjusted his glasses. "I don't hear anything."

Kiku chuckled. "A dog's hearing is many times better than that of a human's, Alfred."

"I'm a Hombre-lobo, not a dog!" Antonio said, irritated at the slight on his nature. "And anyways, back on the topic. I knew I've heard it before we were shipwrecked."

"We'll know for sure once we explore the ship," Kiku said with a hint of complacency. Alfred thought that Kiku was rather enjoying this.

"We'll explore the ship?" Antonio looked at Kiku as if the latter was crazy. "This ship is obviously abandoned!"

"Of course we'll explore this ship," Kiku said impatiently. He gestured around the ocean. "Because we have no way to get home until we do!"

* * *

><p>And so the exploration began. The group checked the main lobby of the ship, where almost everything was overturned and out of their proper places. The grand piano in the middle was intact, though.<p>

"Looks like there's really no one around," Antonio muttered.

Alfred examined the gigantic chandelier that dangled from the ceiling. "This looks like a luxury liner or something…"

Antonio crossed his arms thoughtfully. "It probably used to be." He drew his finger along the surface of a table that stood nearby and looked at the thick dust that covered it afterwards. "It has been probably abandoned for a while now…"

"The furnishings aren't half bad," Kiku remarked as he picked up a golden candelabra.

"Señorito, could this be…?" Antonio said musingly. "Maybe a treasure ship that lost its way? A ghost ship, perhaps?"

He hadn't noticed the ax-wielding figure looming behind him, and Alfred watched in horror as Antonio sensed the presence of the Undead behind him and whirled—

The Undead swiftly brought the ax down on Antonio's head—

"Ve~ Not now~!"

—And a mighty paw shot out and swiped at the Undead, making it skitter away from Antonio harmlessly.

Antonio looked with shock at the auburn-furred Werewolf behind him, who looked dead serious.

"A Werewolf—? How—?"

The Werewolf shook his head at Antonio. "This is no time to talk! Look around you, por favore!"

Indeed, an army of more Undead was gathering around them, and in response, Antonio morphed out his arms to the large Werewolf paws before darting forward and striking at the first one. He snarled threateningly, and the fight began.

Kiku had grabbed the golden candelabra that he was looking at earlier and was using it to parry the blows of another Undead. With a graceful movement, he spun around and quickly stabbed the Undead in the throat, in the same moment that Antonio punched a hole through the one that he was fighting.

However, they were startled when the Undead simply stood back up and leered, their drowned appearances making Alfred's arms tingle with goosebumps.

"They're immortal!" Antonio hollered.

The army of Undead approached again. Antonio stepped into a defensive pose, but a shout sounded from the auburn-furred Werewolf.

"Over here~!"

He was holding a door open to another room nearby. Antonio and the others didn't hesitate and immediately rushed in, the Undead coming after them. Antonio even had to knock one out before he can close and bolt the door. When he had done so, they all sank to the floor in relief, Alfred's heart thumping itself to death.

The Werewolf was still standing, but Antonio noticed that he had reverted to his human form, revealing a hazel-eyed young man with auburn hair. A curl protruded from the left side of his head. The young man lit up a cigarette and took a drag, the tip of the stick glowing a bright red.

"Um…" Antonio said awkwardly to the redhead. The other looked at him with a confused look as he released smoke rings into the air.

"You're a Werewolf, ve~" the redhead remarked reproachfully. "If you keep up like that, you wouldn't be able to protect your master~"

Antonio snapped irritably, "I have no master!" Then he declared loudly, "I am Antonio, of the Carriedo clan!"

The other smiled brightly and declared, "I am Feliciano, younger brother of Lovino of the Vargas clan~!"

Antonio's green eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "You're Feliciano? Lovi's hermano menor?"

"Sì!" the bubbly Feliciano said. "So you're really Antonio Carriedo! Ve~!"

Antonio was about to open his mouth to say something when Kiku said coldly, "Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but could you explain what's happening, Feliciano Vargas?"

Feliciano's hazel eyes widened at the sight of Kiku and immediately knelt down on one knee. "Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum~! Excuse me for my rudeness…"

"No need, I know that you and Lovino had a rocky relationship," Kiku said with a scowl. "And the Vargas clan was certainly the only divided clan that I knew. Just talk about the situation. I am all ears."

* * *

><p>"Three days ago, my boat was also capsized by this ship," Feliciano said gloomily as they sat around a makeshift campfire on the boat deck and ate canned ravioli. Alfred had quickly wolfed his down, so Kiku, who wasn't particularly fond of pasta, generously gave Alfred half of his share. "I was the only one that survived…"<p>

Antonio interrupted Feliciano with a tense "Wait!" Feliciano looked at Antonio curiously.

"Did you hear that, Feli?" Antonio said slowly, his head cocked to listen to a sound that Alfred and Kiku can't hear. "That flutelike sound…"

"Ve~ Yeah, I've heard it too~" Feliciano looked so hopeful that Alfred almost smiled at the sight. "Maybe there are still survivors in this ship, ve~?"

"Look!" Alfred cried, pointing at the dark horizon when he saw lights. "It's another ship!" He looks around at the others. "Maybe if we call for help—!"

"No use~" Feliciano said seriously, shaking his head and making his stray curl bounce. "It's the same, they can't see this ship too~"

Antonio let out a heavy breath. "It's probably led by the rescue signal too… They'll probably hit the ship too and capsize like we did…"

Alfred scratched his head. "Then what are we to do?"

Kiku let out a sigh. "Hmph, it's obvious."

The two Werewolves looked around, Antonio curious, Feliciano just mildly interested.

Kiku smiled slyly at Feliciano. "We go and find the Mermaid!"

Antonio was surprised. "Mermaids? Aren't they extinct long before the start of the war?"

"Those were but mere rumors, Antonio," Kiku said, delicately touching his bottom lip with a finger. Alfred found himself staring like a hypnotized person at the slight movement. "We only need to follow the sound of her flute to find her. She is the source of all this evil, yet she will also be the angel that will lead us to the way out of this ship."

* * *

><p>The sounds of the flute finally made themselves heard on Alfred's and Kiku's ears as they proceeded down inside the ship's belly, the two Werewolves leading the way. Alfred noticed the wisps of blue fire that kept flitting around and above them.<p>

"Kiku— Those are…"

"They are the souls that are trapped onside this ship," Kiku answered shortly. "Maybe that is the reason why those that attacked us before can't die. It's because they were already dead."

Antonio reached the metal door at the end of the passage and kicked it open, revealing a long staircase leading down into darkness. And on it, a horde of Undead was slowly proceeding upward to their position.

"They even prepared a welcoming committee, ve~!" Feliciano giggled.

Kiku merely told the two Werewolves, "Blow a path through them. It shouldn't pose much of a problem for you two, right?"

Feliciano smiled lightly and morphed out into his Werewolf form again. "As expected of a principe! You really know how Werewolves do things, _giovane gentiluomo_!"

He started forward, shouting at Antonio, "Follow me, fratello Antonio!"

Antonio assumed his half-Werewolf form and gladly obliged Feliciano, who started batting Undead to the left and right of the staircase and making them drop down to the ship's engine rooms.

The fight started immediately and furiously. Antonio's paws kept striking at Undead to make them drop down, but the rest just kept coming.

"Tsk! One after the other!" he said in frustration as yet another wave descended upon them.

Just then, one of the Undead pushed past the two Werewolves' defenses and rushed at Kiku with a knife raised. Antonio roared with shock as the Undead started to bore upon Kiku, but Alfred quickly intervened in between and caught the blade in his stomach, blood beginning to drip down to the floor. His eyes were blank.

Feliciano laughed playfully. "A Blood warrior? What a weak Blood warrior!"

* * *

><p>Once they got the path ridden of the Undead, the journey became easier. The group reached the corridor where the flute sound became even more pronounced, the sound echoing around the metal walls. Feliciano ran forward and listened intently at the doors until they reached a metal door from which the sound was the loudest.<p>

"Ve~ She's here~!"

They examined the door and found that it was locked from the outside.

Kiku sighed melodically. "So she was imprisoned," he said. "So this now explains everything."

"Let's meet the mysterious Mermaid at last, shall we?" Antonio said impatiently, and unlocked and opened the door.

Inside the dark room was a slight girl with short blonde hair and deep sea-green eyes. She was holding a flute to her mouth and was playing it, but lowered the instrument when she noticed the open door.

Antonio suddenly noticed something horribly wrong. "Señorito… I think your guess was incorrect!" He gestured to the girl. "This 'Mermaid' has legs!"

Kiku merely shook his head at Antonio, instead holding out his pale hand compassionately to the girl. She ran forward and grasped it between her hands eagerly, as if somehow longing for the warmth that she had never felt again ever since her imprisonment here.

"No… with this I am certain now." Kiku looked up from the girl's now-tearstained face and to Antonio's face with such wise eyes. "This girl… In exchange of her voice, she was cursed in order for her to become human. She couldn't swim away or call out for help. All she could do was play on her flute and call in ships to rescue her."

Antonio and Feliciano looked soberly at the green-eyed girl, who was sniffling softly as Kiku held her hand gently.

"What is your name?" Kiku murmured to the girl. The girl traced four letters on the back of Kiku's hand.

L-I-L-I. Alfred could see every movement clearly as she traced the lines on Kiku's skin. Y-O-U-?

"My name is Kiku Honda," was Kiku's mere answer. Alfred noticed that he hadn't used his title as introduction.

"So that's the curse wherein she will die once she talked, ve~?" Feliciano said worriedly. "That's not good~!"

Antonio looked determined. "Ah, we'll get you out of this ship for sure!" he told the Mermaid, Lili, who smiled shyly at him.

"Carry Lili-chan, Antonio. We're going out of here," Kiku told Antonio, then he turned to Feliciano. "Feliciano, please go back to the place where you found the canned food we had earlier."

Feliciano looked confused. "Ve~ Why~?"

"This ship uses Lili-chan's power to call in ships, causing shipwrecks and continuing to feed off the souls of dead sailors." Kiku looked around with a very serious expression. "Lili is the key for it to flourish. It won't let her escape that easily. And I know it will come back to recapture her."

"Who is it?" Alfred asked seriously.

Kiku smiled at Alfred indulgently. "The lord of the Ghosts."

Antonio whistled shrilly. "Speaking of the devil, señorito!"

And Alfred knew at that moment what 'it' was. A large floating Shark made of blue fire, its movements silent and stealthy, and its large mouth wide open to swallow more of the drifting souls.

_Shit! It's HUGE_.

Antonio carried the Mermaid in his huge Werewolf arms, his green eyes concentrated. "You know, I'm not really the best choice for a Mermaid's personal bodyguard, but it'll just have to do." He looked down into the terrified face of Lili, who was quaking at the sight of the Shark. "Ready, señorita? Uno, dos, tres—!" He shot forward toward the underside of the Shark and narrowly escaped one of its thrashing fins.

The Shark turned around and began chasing them, its fearsome mouth wide open.

"¡Vaina'el diablo coño!" Antonio yelled as he ran frantically. "I still want to live another day!"

* * *

><p>Feliciano reached the kitchen, where he found the gas tanks.<p>

He smoked his cigarette lazily, dropping his façade of easy cheerfulness and his eyes turning into dark hazels. "Sink the ship, ve~?" he muttered with an impressed smile. "Such a fearsome prince!" He surveyed the tanks thoughtfully. "Let's test your abilities… if you are indeed a worthy match for my master, ve~!"

* * *

><p>Antonio continued to sprint crazily, but the Shark was gaining up on him effortlessly. He received a nasty bite to the shoulder, making him drop Lili to the floor. Luckily, he caught her just before she hit the metal.<p>

"Shit!" he swore heavily, continuing his running. "I'm not used to running away like this, dammit!"

He kept up his speed, and saw a door at the end of the passage.

_Just a little bit more—!_

* * *

><p>A mess of gas tanks littered the hallway as Feliciano surveyed his work. He took the cigarette and blew a stream of smoke out.<p>

"I leave the rest to you, noble prince," he said with a smile, and flicked the cigarette away to the first gas tank.

* * *

><p>"Over here, dude!"<p>

The ground shook under Antonio's feet as he sprinted to the door, which was thankfully opened by a frantic Alfred. He burst in and found himself in the main lobby, and watched as Alfred rammed the grand piano toward the door for the mouth of the Shark to receive, who burst into the room a second later.  
>The piano lodged itself between the jaws of the Shark, which roared in utmost rage.<p>

"Did we get it?" Antonio said breathlessly.

"Dunno," Alfred gasped.

However, they were shocked when the great jaws of the Shark actually broke the grand piano in two halves.

"What a troublesome fella!" Antonio snarled. The Shark quickly recovered and made for them, mouth agape.

"What now?" Alfred said with a shudder as he looked away from the Shark.

"Leave it be," a voice said from above. Both guys looked up and saw Kiku standing on the large chandelier that hung precariously from the ceiling. "I shall…"  
>One good stomp, and the rotten chain that supported the chandelier gave way easily, sending it crashing on the top of the Shark. Alfred watched Kiku's graceful black form amid the shattering silvery crystals, and thought that he never saw a more beautiful sight in his life.<p>

The Mermaid Lili watched with childlike wonder as tongues of bright blue fire began detaching themselves from the Shark, flying in the air and scattering, and making the Shark disappear bit by bit.

"The souls that have been trapped…" Kiku said softly, "…have been finally released."

The rest of them watched in wonder as the flames scattered around the lobby, bright flames with very bizarre natures.

Lili's eyes widened and filled with suppressed tears when she noticed a particular blue flame that seemed to be making its way toward her.

Kiku noticed the Mermaid's distress and watched the scene wistfully.

"According to Mermaid legends, in order to be with their lovers, Mermaids make a deal in order to become human." Lili's sea-green eyes met Kiku's bottomless dark ones. "Perhaps with that flute of yours, you were trying to console your lover's feelings."

Alfred swore that this was the gentlest that he had ever seen Kiku act.

Just then, Feliciano burst into the lobby, crying frantically, "This is not the time to be talking~! The ship is sinking, ve~!"

Kiku regarded Feliciano with a deadly calm, dropping his gentle look very abruptly. "No problem."

"But we're still in the middle if the sea, ve~!"

Kiku smirked lightly. "This Mermaid can call ships to her, right?"

Feliciano's hazel eyes widened at the loophole in his plan that he hadn't noticed. "Oh, right~!" How stupid of me…

"Anyway, how about you confess already?" Kiku continued coldly. "The real reason why you're here is to capture the Mermaid, right? Who are you working for, Feliciano Vargas?"

Feliciano dropped his cheerful stance and let his hazel eyes harden. "Ooh, very clever, Kiku-sama~! But that's—"

To everyone's surprise, Lili suddenly forsook her vow of silence and cried out to Feliciano, "_Watch out_—!"

Alfred had just then noticed the large chunk of rusted metal tearing away from a jutting piece in the wall and was about to drop down on Feliciano's head. The Italian fortunately heard the Mermaid's cry and dove out of the way.

"…She just spoke!" Antonio called out in surprise.

Kiku's eyes widened. "Impossible! If a cursed Mermaid were to speak, she will—!"

_Plop_.

Lili's frail body had slumped on the floor, her green eyes blank and devoid of emotion.

Just then, the ship lurched sideways, making Lili slide down through the open door, to the deck, and finally to the icy waters of the ocean below.

Feliciano snapped out of his shock. "_Che palle_! I'm so stupid!" He ran to the deck, amid Kiku's outburst.

"Feliciano, it's too late! You cannot save her!"

Feliciano watched the violent waves, guilt crashing upon him. "Damn! I'm such a fool!"

* * *

><p>On the black ship's deck, the man with golden eyes held a finger dripping with brilliant fire-red Blood to the Mermaid's lip, smiling as he did so.<p>

"Just drink the Blood of the Royalty, and you shall become half-immortal," he murmured gently, the smile slowly growing into a triumphant smirk. "But if you don't drink it periodically, you will die permanently, aru… So become my Blood Warrior…"

Lili stirred sleepily, and looked up at her new master.

"Yao-sama!" Feliciano said, his face registering relief. However, Antonio's green eyes blazed red with anger, and he launched himself down, furious with revenge.

"Fucking Royalty—!"

"Antonio! _Stop_!" Kiku called with a sliver of fear in his voice, but Antonio was already in the air, his tanned arms morphing into giant Werewolf paws as he prepared to take Yao's head off his shoulders.

However, Yao just looked up at Antonio, golden eyes lighting up dangerously. Instantly, blood gushed forth from Antonio's skin as invisible knives cut him everywhere. Antonio howled with incredible pain as he dropped down into the chafing sea like a rock.

Alfred was shocked at the display. "Antonio!" he screamed.

Kiku let out a shaky breath and said in a firm voice, "Relax, Alfred. Antonio is not dead. He held back, because he got the Mermaid."

Feliciano leaped from the large ship onto the black one, and declared, "I'm sorry, fratello Antonio. But the next time we meet, I won't show you any mercy, ve~!"

Kiku's bottomless dark eyes and the golden ones of the man on the black ship locked with each other and stayed, as if they were unable to look away from each other again. Alfred watched on, torn between the feelings of fear and awe between these two not-so-mortal-as-they-looked siblings.

"Onii-sama," Kiku said softly.

Just then, Lili raised the flute that hung from her hips and began playing, the haunting notes echoing across the black water.

The golden-eyed man smiled. "You are calling ships for my brother? What a kind-hearted girl you are, aru…" He patted Lili's shoulder as the girl continued to play. "As an exception, my new Blood warrior, I will be letting you off from your duty tonight!"

Kiku laughed scornfully. "Oh, are you perhaps insinuating that you can eliminate me whenever you wish, onii-sama?"

"Yes, aru." Yao turned his back to Kiku, but the latter spoke again.

"Yao-nii-sama," Kiku's voice was carefully expressionless. "I will tell you one thing."

Yao stopped in his tracks and turned his head a little to the right.

"I am not interested in becoming the Ruler of the Kingdom." Kiku's eyes were as hard as rocks.

Alfred listened with amazement, watching Kiku's determination slowly making itself known as he spoke.

"But I haven't any desire to die soon," Kiku continued with a scowl. "And someday, I might be forced to turn my sword upon you in order to live."

Yao didn't look back at Kiku, but he said, "I thought you have changed a lot, Kiku, but I now see that you haven't."

Kiku smiled sweetly. "Oh, I have changed a lot, Yao-nii-sama. For instance, I now find taking wings off flies an interesting hobby."

Yao laughed lightly, back still turned. "Really? That's coming from a person who in the past can't bear to see ants being intentionally crushed to death, Kiku. Yes, indeed you have changed a lot. You are not my sweet, innocent Kiku any longer."

"Yes," Kiku replied. "I am no longer owned by anyone, onii-sama. If you must know…"

Yao sighed. "Feliciano, tell Ivan to get the ship going already, aru. We have finished our business here."

Alfred stared at the black ship slowly proceeding on its way, his blue eyes wide.

At that precise moment, I now knew what kind of enemies Kiku was actually facing… and they were far from being the fun kind.

* * *

><p>In the darkest room in a desolate castle far from the haunts of humanity, a lithe young girl, maybe not much older than twenty, was tied up to the wall, blindfolded and gagged. A strange kind of faucet was installed on her leg, and the pale, red-eyed man who had now entered the room turned it on and caught the blood drops with a wineglass.<p>

He turned the faucet off and smelled the burning red liquid in the glass before remarking, "Ah, even just a single drop of blood carries the taste of life. Nothing compares to it!"

The girl didn't move or react at this statement. The man tilted the glass and took a sip before continuing, "Your siblings just had to fight to the death for the succession to the Throne. However…" He smiled and licked his lips. "…The Throne isn't always succeeded by Royalty."

His captive didn't attempt to make a move, or maybe her bonds were just too tight.

"Isn't that right…" Gilbert Beilschmidt lifted the wineglass to the girl and made a mocking toast to her. "…_Kim-sama_?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ooh, Oresama and Kim of the Red Lotus appears!**

**Now you might be all like "I thought she was dead already!" But actually, this is going to be a major plot twist! How will the rest of our Asian siblings react to this? Well, let's just see, teehee… (mindfuckery on the go…)**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: The Vampire Gilbert Beilschmidt makes his first move to provoke Kiku that all starts with Francis and ends with Alfred. Antonio and Arthur will have to overcome their mutual dislike for each other to rescue Alfred from Gilbert's clutches.


	10. Continue

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Kiku encounters the strangest and most mysterious creature that they will ever encounter in the shape of Lili, a Mermaid. They also meet Feliciano, Lovino's younger brother, and finds out that he is currently under the employ of Yao of the White Peony. Alfred also sets his eyes on Yao for the first time and sees the terrible power of the Golden Eyes firsthand.<p>

Meanwhile, Gilbert Beilschmidt, a Vampire, has a precious flower under his care: that of a princess of the Royalty who is long believed to be dead…

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, **AwesomeVamp!Gilbert**. _Yeah, Oresama joins the badass fray. Watch out. That's all I have to say. Mwahahaha!_

**Pairings**: mortal!AlfredxBlack!Kiku

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: The Vampire Gilbert Beilschmidt makes his first move to provoke Kiku that all starts with Francis and ends with Alfred. Antonio and Arthur will have to overcome their mutual dislike for each other to rescue Alfred from Gilbert's clutches.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Tenth Drop of Blood:<em>**  
><em>Continue<em>

* * *

><p>"Frog, you home?" Arthur Kirkland perched himself on the windowsill of the top floor of Francis's hospital and peered in the dark. "Calling me in the middle of the night… Really, this'll cost you."<p>

He slid the window open and leaped in nimbly with catlike grace, his brilliant green eyes taking in the horrifying scene before him.

Francis Bonnefoy was spread-eagled on the floor, a white ash stake, the only thing that could truly kill a Vampire, driven through his chest. Francis's breaths were coming in sharp, irregular gasps.

"What in the bloody hell—?" Arthur whispered in slight shock.

"Honhon… Arthur, you have no idea of what I have just seen…" Francis ground out with a forced chuckle, a golden eyebrow slightly crinkled. "I have… seen the thing that I have desired for so long…!"

* * *

><p>"Hmph. A Vampire killed by another Vampire?"<p>

"Yes, Ouji-sama. Francis Bonnefoy told me as he lay dying."

Kiku calmly flicked his wet brush on the ink block and held it against the ink stone to prevent dripping. "Ha! I thought that Vampires usually do not like anyone, especially the Royalty, meddling into their affairs." He began running the brush on the piece of silk lying on the table, carefully marking the cloth with the right number of strokes. "Well, Arthur Kirkland?"

"That is correct, but…"

"Bring me along!"

The pair seated on the dining table turned their heads to see Antonio, whose left wrist was handcuffed onto a stop sign, which in turn was torn from its foundations and was trailing haphazardly behind the angry Werewolf. Kiku could see the black eye and the blood trickling from Antonio's chin very clearly under the bright fluorescent light.

"That stinking Vampire's den!" Antonio roared, flexing the muscles of his free arm. "Bring me there now!"

"Antonio…" Kiku sighed and put down his brush with an unusually resigned look on his face.

* * *

><p>The castle that we've seen last time was still as desolate as ever, and the dark room where we saw the mysterious princess was still as dark, if not darker. It was a silent new moon.<p>

Gilbert Beilschmidt held another wineglass under the faucet installed on her leg and turned it, catching the red drops carefully. He closed the faucet and held it on his lips with a mocking smile at the helpless princess, who was powerless to scream or at least see.

"A drop of blood, carrying the sweetness of immortality…" Gilbert took a dainty sip, and watched the silent princess. "There is nothing more awesome. Except me, of course."

He held Kim's chin and tilted it upwards, a grin forming on his lips.

"Don't you agree?" Suddenly, his words weren't directed at Kim anymore. "…You, who have experienced it?"

And we see another person in that same room, slumped and chained onto the wall, his shirt ripped and bloody and his face shockingly pale and blank.

Alfred.

* * *

><p>"A Vampire immortalized by Royal Blood?"<p>

"Si! He kidnapped Alfredo right before my very eyes!"

Kiku scowled and bit his lower lip a little. "Did the Vampire suck Alfred's blood?"

"No, not really," Antonio said, frowning lightly.

Arthur's expression was quite neutral. "Then I'm afraid that it was as Francis had told me." His green eyes narrowed in distaste. "It's Gilbert Beilschmidt, the Duke."

"Beilschmidt?" Antonio stood up and grabbed Arthur by the latter's collar, making them tense both. "Are you sure it's him?"

Arthur fixed cool green eyes on Antonio. "Can you please let go of me?" he said coldly. "And yes, Alfred was captured by the Vampire Beilschmidt. I daresay he's been very infamous throughout the history of our kind." He tugged his clothes out of Antonio's furious grip and said matter-of-factly, "If you still can't recognize him, I daresay his title 'The Scourge of the Werewolves' will suffice?

"The number of Werewolves that have fallen by his own hand is not just more than one or two hundred…" Arthur licked his lips apprehensively. "He is not one you can take lightly… So Kiku-sama, if I may, I have a favor to ask of you—"

Kiku laughed playfully, the sound more chilling to the ear than delightful. The prince was angry, and his increasingly failing attempts to keep his composure under control was such that even Antonio, who couldn't read the atmosphere even to save his life, could somehow see the rage silently simmering under Kiku's calm smile. "Say no more. You might be aware that the Blood keeping Alfred alive will expire in two or three days. And considering that, we should retrieve him quickly."

Arthur bowed politely. "I understand Alfred's position, Kiku-sama. And please stay in the house. It is safer here."

Antonio suddenly handcuffed Arthur to his left arm with a quiet click, taking the Vampire by surprise.

"Hmph, what is this, a joke?" Arthur said sarcastically.

Antonio's green eyes were determined. "Bring me there." He spoke quietly, his rage bridled imperfectly. "It does not matter who the opponent is. Take me to where that person is now!"

Arthur scowled at Antonio with undecided green eyes, but Kiku decided the matter quickly by throwing a small vial of dull silver liquid at Antonio, who caught it by reflex.

"It's a leftover from the serum made with Arthur's venom I made when Alfred was bitten," was Kiku's words to Antonio's blank stare. "I'm sure Arthur knows what to do with it."

"I understand," Arthur said with a sigh. "I shall bring you to Gilbert Beilschmidt. I needed to check some thing there too… so will you please unlock these bloody handcuffs now?"

Antonio grinned. "I can't," he said with a shrug. "'Coz I don't have the key!"

Arthur's smile turned into rage. "What the bloody fuck!"

* * *

><p>When the bickering pair of Antonio and Arthur had finally calmed down enough to actually set off to go to Gilbert's castle, Kiku immediately turned to Herakles and flashed him a sly smile.<p>

"We have to go and prepare, Hera-chan," he said with a sigh.

Herakles frowned lightly. "What are… you planning…? Can't we… just stay… like what Arthur… advised us… to do…?"

Kiku tapped the tip of Herakles's nose playfully. "Silly Hera-chan! You know me… After losing a lot of Blood warriors from that time, you wouldn't honestly think that I'll put up with this without a bit of a fight?" Kiku's eyes turned as cold as chips of dangerous black ice as his anger mounted. "To fatally wound a strong and wily opponent, we should have a backup plan, Hera-chan."

* * *

><p>The cold splash of water from a bucket shocked Alfred to half of his senses, at least. Gilbert laughed at him.<p>

"It's not time to sleep yet, Blood warrior!" he said with a scorning laugh. Alfred felt hollow as he sat there, his eyes wide and empty. "You should thank the awesome me… I'm now teaching you how the feelings of an immortal!" Gilbert's brilliant red eyes blazed in the dark. "To be unable to die… despite how much you long for it… Your life is in the hands of your master, for him to bend and twist whichever way he wanted." He took a large dagger from the depths of his purple cloak and held it up, a crazed grin on his face. "Let's test your immortality, Blood warrior! I've heard that even if I cut you up right now into pieces, if I reattach them all, you'll still be as good as new! How marvelous, the Royal Blood…"

Alfred's horrified face was reflected on Gilbert's red eyes as the Vampire leered.

Gilbert laughed. "Don't you want to try it out? I've heard rumors about how Kiku-sama's Blood is more potent in terms of magic than that of his other siblings' Blood, but we just had to make sure…"

And he playfully held the knife up.

* * *

><p>The new moon provided no light as Arthur Kirkland and Antonio Carriedo struggled through the rough wood and finally a step into Beilschmidt territory. The castle stood in the distance, the fading sky desolate. The wood was dark, but both pairs of glowing green eyes can still see clearly.<p>

"Are we finally in Vampire realm?" Antonio whispered to Arthur excitedly. "Let's move closer!"

"Sh!" Arthur hissed angrily. "We can't move in closer just because you want to, selfish git!" He settled in a preaching sort of tone which totally irritated the "passionate" Werewolf. "First, what separates the inner realm from the outer lands isn't just as simple as soldiers."

Antonio snarled, but otherwise kept quiet and listened to Arthur's explanation.

"Throughout the entire area surrounding the capital are lower-class Vampires," Arthur said in a low voice. "They can instantly sense Werewolves. They'll hunt you down for sure." To Antonio's intense disgust, Arthur playfully leaned in closer and opened his mouth to reveal two sharp fangs ready to pierce his throat. "That's why I'm coming…"

"W-wait—!" Antonio said hurriedly, roughly shoving Arthur away and sending the Vampire to the grass. "What are you doing?"

Arthur chuckled lightly. "What a bloody fool you are, Werewolf…" He sat up and blinked at Antonio with sly green eyes. "Think about why Kiku-sama gave you that serum."

Antonio's hand grabbed Arthur's collar roughly and made him stand up. "Don't fuck with me!"

Arthur snorted and rolled his eyes. "You have no chance of getting into the castle unharmed—not unless you let me bite you and turn you into a temporary half-Vampire. I hope you understand that part, at least!"

Antonio shivered and grimaced incredulously. "I'd rather die, thank you."

Arthur sighed with a smile. "Those words are a sign of your giving up." He drew closer to Antonio and looked up with dangerous green eyes. "Didn't you know that Kiku-sama, despite his inherited hate of Vampires, had let Alfred do this to him just to save the poor Blood warrior's life?" Arthur hummed lightly at having made his point. "At this rate, you'd never really understand how Kiku-sama's mind works…"

Antonio paused with a shocked face.

Arthur chuckled. "What~?"

"I… I… Okay!" Antonio sighed loudly in exasperation and grumbled. "I understand…"

"Really~?" Arthur purred.

"Just… just shut up and do it already!" Antonio said, blushing deeply.

Arthur leaned in close and bared his fangs slightly.

"The thought of tasting a dog's blood is making me want to vomit…!" he whispered snidely before sinking his fangs in the skin, earning a shocked gasp from Antonio.

* * *

><p>"What, do you want to do it again, Blood warrior?" Gilbert said with a triumphant smile as he held the now-bloodstained dagger in his right hand. They were on the very top of a tower, the wind coming in through the large, open windows and caressing their faces roughly. Alfred, who was kneeling, felt his legs shaking as though they were threatening to give up because of the extreme pain coursing through the large wound on his stomach.<p>

Alfred looked at him bleakly, as if he couldn't quite process the words in his mind. Gilbert sighed with mock regret.

"I'm going to ask you just a few questions, worthless one," Gilbert finally sighed exasperatedly, giving up on Alfred. "The awesome me is representing someone to find out some things."

Alfred raised his head wearily. "Some… one…?"

Gilbert cracked a grin. "That's right. If I become the strongest… I can be the King of the Rising Sun. That'd be fuuuun."

Alfred's mind was reeling from this revelation.

Gilbert burst into long and loud laughter. "What, you didn't know? That's the only requirement to win the struggle for the Throne. This isn't merely a battle between Royal siblings. This is a battle between many races of many different worlds—"

"You speak too fucking much, stinking Vampire!"

Alfred's eyes turned upon the huge paw finding its way upon the sills of one of the windows followed by Antonio, who finally pulled himself up into the tower. A moment later, Arthur leaped in to join Antonio. They were still handcuffed together.

"I am Antonio, of the Carriedo clan!" Antonio declared, his huge right paw making whistling sounds as he struck the air. "I am here to challenge you!"

"Arthur Kirkland," Arthur said politely, bowing to the other Vampire. "A pleasure to finally meet you… Gilbert Beilschmidt."

Gilbert sighed at Alfred with visible disappointment. "What's this, only two people? Has your master abandoned you, then? Where's Kiku-sama?"

Antonio snarled.

Gilbert crossed his arms with an amused smile. "A pity, but the awesome me shall gladly accept your challenge, Werewolf!" His lips curled in a feral grin. "If I may remind you, though… I am now immortal, so you better watch out, won't you~?"

* * *

><p>"The battle for the Throne has some rules, though," Kiku mused, watching the road as Herakles sleepily maneuvered the truck. "An army may not be used." He let out a sigh as he played with the black katana at his side.<p>

Herakles frowned with sympathetic eyes.

"Normally, I couldn't hope to defeat Gilbert Beilschmidt without the strength of numbers. But this time, Luna is in our side. If Werewolves get stronger every full moon, and Vampires every crescent moon, Royalties in the age bracket of seventeen years old and above get significantly stronger…" His eyes glittered dryly. "…when there is no moon at all. It is forbidden to use our Blood's power against each other, but I don't think Gilbert is even a distant relative of mine, so it shouldn't matter much."

* * *

><p>The battle against Gilbert had started, but it seemed as if Antonio and Arthur weren't still used to their handcuffed position because they kept on avoiding the oncoming attacks in an extremely uncoordinated manner. Arthur was sporting a bleeding gash on the cheek while Antonio was breathless from always trying to pull Arthur out of harm's way.<p>

It seemed to Antonio that Gilbert wasn't bluffing when he told them that he was "awesome." He was. Um… frighteningly so. He had a thousand freaking chicks at his command (Gilbert was of the opinion that little birds who can kill are better than those who can't), and he can… _fly_.

"Cheating asshole," Antonio spat angrily.

Arthur smiled wryly. "I should think that that's the ultimate understatement of the century."

"We can't go on like this forever!" Antonio decided peevishly, and to Arthur's shock, he broke the handcuffs with a mere transformation of his left arm into a huge Werewolf paw.

Arthur was irritated. "You should've done it ages ago, dimwit!"

Antonio grinned. "I forgot that I can even do that."

Arthur wasn't pleased. "Stupid git."

Antonio batted the air heavily, taunting Gilbert. "Come on! The real fight starts now!"

* * *

><p>As the moon stubbornly refused to show itself, Kiku's dangerous smile began growing sweeter still. His eyes were lighting up and his pale skin was emitting the nonexistent light of the moon, making it mysteriously luminous. Herakles could have sworn that Kiku was the Moon herself.<p>

"My only weapon would be my fan, after all," Kiku suddenly decided. "Hera-chan, let us dance the story of the rakshasa and the corpse. I think Gilbert Beilschmidt would love that. Of course, I'd be the demon. It's no fun unless I was the rakshasa."

* * *

><p>Antonio was assaulted by Gilbert's little "chicks", pecking him to a thousand bits and making him snarl in rage. It was still hopeless, even when Arthur was now separated from him. They were both good fighters, and they could manage even with the annoying birds, but Gilbert, with his status as a Blood warrior and his ability to fly, was still largely untouched.<p>

"Too un-awesome for me, you two are," Gilbert said with an arrogant chuckle.

Antonio shot the red-eyed Vampire a stink eye.

Arthur laughed. "Really, sir, don't think of us too lightly!"

Gilbert whistled shrilly, and Arthur soon found himself engulfed in the mass of little birds, twittering like mad.

Antonio struck at the mass of birds, some of them dropping down and making Gilbert hiss in irritation.

"You're really like irritating cockroaches!" he said with derision.

Arthur struck out too with inhuman speed, making the birds disperse in an angry mass. His pale hand shot out and grabbed a particular bird's throat, mercilessly and slowly choking it to death in front of the Duke.

Gilbert's red eyes finally blazed with anger. "Why, you—!"

Antonio shot Arthur a flabbergasted look, but Arthur merely shrugged.

"Provoke to conquer," he mouthed.

"Then so be it…" Gilbert muttered with a dark look. "You won't get out of here alive!"

"Let me be your opponent," a quiet voice suddenly spoke behind them, and Antonio's and Arthur's eyes widened when they saw who it was.

"Kiku-sama!" Gilbert laughed madly, fangs bared out in sweet anticipation. "How lovely to see you here…!"

"May I tell you about the story of the rakshasa and the corpse?" Kiku's evil grin matched Gilbert's laugh. "Then I can finally express my hatred for your disgusting trick."

"You may, Lieber Chrysantheme," Gilbert said in a mock patient tone.

* * *

><p>"<em>The carp streamers are showing their bellies… inside which heaps of skulls are buried…<em>"

Arthur had to admit, he wasn't a big fan of the Royalty, but Kiku's graceful dance was truly a sight to behold. The Rakshasa and the Corpse… a children's song, but its message was so… dangerous.

Meanwhile, Alfred's blue eyes had lighted and looked up weakly when he heard that voice… So heartwrenching that it was almost painful…

"_Yai, yai, shall we go play…? Yai, yai, smile, smile…! Rai, rai, join up, open up… Rai, rai, the rakshasa and the corpse.…_"

Kiku sang clearly and danced faster, his beautiful voice carrying easily through the night air as Antonio bared his teeth in a defiant yet slowly surrendering snarl.

"_One, two, three… and again open up…_"

Alfred stood up on his two legs, blank eyes slowly taunting and lips quirked in a cold sneer.

"_Five, six, seven… and raise your hands up high.…_"

Arthur closed his vibrant green eyes at the overwhelming power that he felt from Kiku. His Royal Blood is too powerful and potent, indeed.

"_A collar tied to a pine tree, hanging and swinging… let's all join up together… everyone together!_"

Alfred tore off the chains with a crazed grin as his master reached the peak of his power, and Gilbert realized what was happening.

Kiku's closed fan slowly lengthened and thinned, and within seconds, it became the black katana as the dance ended.

Gilbert's smile froze in place.

Kiku tilted his head. "This is the ability of my Blood, dear Vampire… that is, to manipulate the objects in the surrounding environment. It is well that I can only use this whenever there's a new moon, for I could have destroyed you long ago."

It was Gilbert's turn now to become flabbergasted. "How fearfully powerful you are, Kiku-sama…!" he breathed out, his eyes barely concealing the lust for power behind his red eyes.

Kiku laughed mockingly. "Now is not the time to praise me… I shall herald your death!"

* * *

><p>Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon looked around as he sensed a presence behind him. His smile widened, and his eyes hardened.<p>

"Oh, it's only you," he remarked in a dismissing tone, as if the person behind him wasn't worthy of his attention at all.

"Nii-sama, please…" the dark figure answered with a submissive tone.

Yong Soo turned the lantern he held to the other's face, revealing a beautiful young girl with long wavy hair and humbled dark eyes. She was as pale as the prince, if not more so.

Yong Soo smiled with an arrogant grace. "Im Eun Soo, we should kill Kiku-nii-sama now."

Eun Soo of the White Magnolia nodded helplessly as her twin brother Yong Soo chuckled darkly. "I shall do it for you, nii-sama."

_Even if it breaks my heart to do it_, she added as an afterthought, but she didn't dare say it out loud.

* * *

><p>Kiku had already changed half of Gilbert's birds into little bits of stone whenever one of them shot forward to harm him. Gilbert, needless to say, wasn't pleased.<p>

"Tch, you…"

Kiku subtly flicked his little finger to make the fragments of the handcuffs still attached to Alfred's wrists fall off and turn into silver daggers. Alfred picked them up and expertly threw them to the distracted Gilbert, catching the Vampire in his heart. Gilbert Beilschmidt let out an angry snarl, and wrenched the daggers out to let the wounds heal.

"I'll kill you!" he screeched. "I swear upon my life, I'll kill you next time, Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum!"

"Run away like the coward you are, Beilschmidt," Kiku said coldly, and watched the Vampire surrender and fly off into the distance.

Gilbert didn't look back, but he directed his next words to Arthur. "And to Arthur Kirkland, I say this: You have committed a taboo of the highest kind. You have cooperated with a Werewolf, and you shall be punished for that!"

Arthur watched him go with a scornful look in his eyes. "That Beilschmidt!" he griped in a vicious tone. "How dare he speak to me in that tone! He may be the royalty of the Vampires, but the bloody hell will I allow him to address me in such an impolite tone!"

"Arthur Kirkland…" Antonio began, making Arthur look at him curiously.

"What—?"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT THAT WE GOT INTO THIS MESS!" Antonio yelled, effectively irritating Arthur.

"The bloody hell is it!" Arthur snapped at him. "If not because of me, you won't even know where we are!"

Kiki ignored the bickering pair and instead turned to check Alfred, whose eyes had reverted to their normal clueless state.

"Um, my glasses…" he muttered, feeling in his pockets.

"Are already destroyed," Kiku supplied, seeing the crushed remnants of Alfred's glasses lying a foot away from him. With a sigh, he picked them up and restored them to their proper shape.

"Oh, um, thanks—" Alfred was saying when Kiku gave the repaired glasses back to him, but was surprised when Kiku smacked him hard across the face.

"Ow! What was that for?"Alfred protested, eyeing Kiku's hand as it was raised one more time, as if threatening to do it once more.

"You're the most expensive Blood warrior that I've ever had the misfortune to resurrect, Alfred F. Jones!" Kiku said bitingly, and let out a troubled sigh as he brought his hand back down slowly. "If it wasn't the new moon tonight, I wouldn't've known what to do. Do you get my point?"

"I'm grateful for it, Kiku," Alfred said simply, and Kiku glared at him pointedly.

"Reminds me that I have to go and use you as target practice after this, Alfred…"

* * *

><p>"I completely forgot that this is a hospital, Arthur."<p>

"Sod off, git. You bloody scared me when I saw you like that!"

"O honhonhon~!"

Francis Bonnefoy, miraculously restored to his former health, sat up on the hospital bed in his room and watched Arthur, who was sitting on his right side, pick at the grapes.

"What about Kiku-sama?" Francis said curiously.

"His Blood must be that delicious," Arthur mused. "You should've seen the expression on Beilschmidt's face when he saw Kiku…"

Francis sighed. "The more one gets, the more one wants."

Arthur smiled slyly. "That's true. For once, I agree with you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Gilbert's the hardest character to write, honestly…**

**And ooh, do I see a hint of North Korea up there? I tell you, Antonio's list of Kiku's siblings in the past chapters is really incomplete, so you should expect more Asians not included in the list. But Yao is still the eldest, and Mei the youngest. I just feel like it. Teehee.**

**Reviews are love, guys. And this fic wants more love~ And I think you'll love it more after a few more revelations about Kiku's Blood and more facts about the Royal Family, teehee~**

**First one who guesses what the Royal Family's true nature is will get three cookies.~ Your only clue is their Blood.**

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku and Alfred get trapped in the memory of a serial killer, and they must keep their nerves intact, or they'll be the next victims. Total creepiness abounds, dudes and dudettes… And do I see a piggyback moment there? *dies from too much fan-girling*


	11. Sacrifice

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em><em><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>__

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>The Vampire Gilbert Beilschmidt had made his first move to provoke Kiku. Kiku demonstrates his Blood power that only activates in a new moon—that of manipulating everything into new objects as he sees fit.<p>

Knowing that he can never win while Kiku has this kind of power, Gilbert retreated, but not without first threatening Arthur that he will make him a Vampire exiled from his own kind.

Meanwhile, Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon and his twin sister Eun Soo of the White Magnolia make their dangerous plans to kill Kiku… and it may be something that'll provoke Kiku's long-repressed fury to the traitor who backhandedly slew his army…

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: After ten chapters, I think you'd have memorized the Holy Trinity by now. This is rated for 1. Violence, 2. Language, and 3. Mentions of Blood.

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genre**: Quite obviously, this is under Horror & Supernatural.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku and Alfred get trapped in the memory of a serial killer, and they must keep their nerves intact, or they'll be the next victims.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eleventh Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Sacrifice<em>

* * *

><p>The moon was a mere silvery sliver against the dark sky as the night progressed, and whispers flitted through the air as the huge arm of the killer arced once. Twice. Many times, into the air and back down. Blood spattered everywhere as the sickle that he swung made contact with the body.<p>

"No more sacrifices."

"Give him the hammer of God."

Kill. Kill. Kill.

Please, stop…!

* * *

><p>"How is it, Hera-chan?"<p>

Herakles shook his head slowly as he examined the engine underneath the hood of the car.

"How unlucky to have car problems while we are this deep in the mountains," Kiku said with a sarcastic smile.

I was looking at the valley below when I spotted something of huge interest, so I called out to Kiku. "Look at this, Kiku…" I waved my hand out to the direction of the valley. "Isn't that a town? It looks pretty close! Maybe we can find someone there who can fix our truck?"

Kiku tilted his head thoughtfully with a frown. "Hm, a town, huh?" He sighed. "Maybe… we should."

* * *

><p>Looking back to this event a few days after, maybe we should've thought more carefully about this. Maybe we should've wondered why the car broke down at that precise spot and time. And why we happened to see a town at that desolate part of the land.<p>

But of course, that was our hindsight.

"This hill is… rough," I remarked as we struggled down the path with Herakles leading. Kiku had refused help from Herakles even when stray bushes were trying to rip his awkward clothes and his skin every time he proceeded onward. To make matters worse, I noticed something else.

"This fog, Kiku…"

Kiku watched the blanket of white proceeding to envelop us in blankness, and he noticed another much more worrying thing.

"Hera-chan!" he said, peering around, and I also noticed that Herakles was suddenly gone.

Oh, great. Just great.

We walked for quite a time, Kiku calling out Herakles's name every so often, when I lost my balance and sent both of us down on the grass. Unlucky me.

"You're a klutz," he scolded me, his lip quirking in pain. I saw that he had twisted his foot.

Oh. Double shit.

"Sorry."

"Damage is done, Alfred."

I opted to carry him piggyback, wondering at his light weight, and luckily, after some time of walking around aimlessly, we saw the fog beginning to lift.

And when the fog lifted completely—

"…Kiku, what in the world…"

—We finally find ourselves in the town.

* * *

><p>This town was pretty old-fashioned. That was what I told Kiku out loud as we walked around in the streets. Or maybe all villages that are hidden between mountains are like this. Dunno. But I kept noticing that the inhabitants seem to be keeping themselves hidden behind carefully locked doors.<p>

Kiku pointed at a large bulletin board standing under the light of a lamppost. We examined the board and saw a single post on it: That of a picture of a girl, seemingly nine or ten years of age, and the large caption underneath, reading "MISSING" in bold red letters.

I caught Kiku furrowing his brow curiously at this picture, but I said nothing.

* * *

><p>We reached the Auto Repairs shop, but even when I called out, no one came.<p>

"I guess nobody's home?" I suggested tentatively.

Kiku wearily nested his head against my neck. "Not only that… I can't feel a single living presence in the entire town."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I felt as if an ice cube just slipped in my stomach.

Kiku didn't even answer my question. "Let's go back, Alfred. I'm more concerned about Hera-chan."

He gestured back again, making me sigh and follow his orders. But he suddenly made me pause when I passed the bulletin board on the way.

"Kiku? What—?"

He pointed and stared at the bulletin board with a stunned face (or as close to a stunned face that I will ever see upon his face). I looked at his line of sight and gasped.

Where there was only one picture before, there were now two. The first picture was marked with a large bloody "X" mark, and the new picture was labeled with the same "MISSING" caption. This time it was a man with disheveled dark hair.

Kiku let out a startled breath, and it scared me. I dunno why.

* * *

><p>"Kiku-sama and Al are so late," Matthew said worriedly as he watched Antonio sit dejectedly in a corner of the kitchen. "Where could have they gone? I can't warm up their dinner like this…"<p>

Antonio just groaned.

"Um, is something the matter—?" Matthew asked timidly, but Antonio overrode his softly-spoken sentence.

"Why do they have to go out tonight of all nights?" Antonio moaned, and settled his face back down on his arms.

"Uh, what seems to be the matter—?"

"It's a lunar eclipse tonight, Dios mio!" Antonio suddenly roared out loud, making Matthew drop the cup that he was filling and spill tea all over the clean floor tiles.

"…Maple…"

* * *

><p>I was slowly running out of breath as I ran in a straight line. Kiku had ordered me to proceed further, and I saw what he wanted to see.<p>

"Kiku, that was—!"

The bulletin board again. That was what I saw.

"That's the community board again," I said slowly, as a creepily thoughtful expression began crawling its way on Kiku's face. "That can't be… we just passed by here a minute ago!"

"Get us nearer, Alfred."

We went to it and began examining the posts on the board. I noticed two things: that another picture had been added, and also that the second picture, that of the dark-haired man, was marked with an "X" too.

Just then, voices that seemed to come from the house behind us startled us both out of our own reveries.

"_It's the second victim_," said a voice.

"_I heard that they discovered the corpse in their backyard_," said another voice.

"_How… sad_," said the first voice.

I spun around to where the voices came from. "Did you hear that, Kiku? There were people in here after all! I thought this town was abandoned!" I began rambling to cover up the nasty feeling in my stomach, but Kiku cut me off.

"I heard it, Alfred," he said calmly, and smiled beautifully at me, making my stomach do two flip-flops in an entirely warming way. "But only their voices."

My stomach did another flip-flop, this time in an unpleasant context. "W-what d'you mean?"

"Let's have a look inside the house," was his answer, and I had no choice but to go with him.

* * *

><p>Just as he had hinted at, the house was surprisingly empty.<p>

"Huh?" I looked around at the last room that we've checked. It looked like the family's living room. There was a bowl of chips on the floor by the sofa.

"This is the last one," Kiku muttered, as if to himself. Limping to the sofa, he sat, removed his left tabi and examined his sprained ankle carefully. It looked pretty bad.

"I don't geddit, Kiku. I thought I heard voices from this house." I gestured to the bowl of chips. "And there are clear signs that someone was still living here until recently!"

Just then, the television behind me clicked to life, and it was tuned to a news program.

_Fsssh_…

"_The disappearances in A— town still continue, and the police are still investigating_—"

And I heard them again. Voices. This time, they were from the outside, behind the curtained windows.

"_I've heard that the third victim was found in the marshes_."

"_All the townspeople are being killed off…_"

"_I'm not going to forgive the killer. I swear_."

As soon as the voices ceased, I ran to the window and opened the curtains, but there was no one there.

Kiku limped over to me and put a hand on my shoulder in a restraining manner. "There's no use, Alfred. This is an empty town." He gestured around the room. "This town doesn't even exist!"

"That's silly," I said, but he wordlessly handed me a fairly new newspaper that he had found under the coffee table beside the sofa.

"Read the date on top."

I read the date as instructed, and what I found was something that even my supernaturally-accustomed brain couldn't fully process.

July 10, 1965. Oh, we're royally fucked. Not to offend Kiku or something…

"What's going on, Kiku?" I said in a slightly shaking voice. I absolutely knew that I had to be braver than usual. I knew that if anything was to happen (God _no_), Kiku would be more helpless than me. But… I was still mortal, my heart can't take the unusual turn of events, and I am finally fucking-breaking-down-in-front-of-him! "I don't understand, dammit—"

"…Alfred."

"Kiku, dammit all, what are we going to—?"

"Alfred! Listen to me."

He soothingly cupped my face between his small and slender white hands, his beautiful dark eyes locking with mine. "From now on, I will never allow you to disappear from my sight. Are we clear?"

_Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump_.

I had blushed when he grabbed me, and now my heart was thumping like oh-so-crazy. Oh, fuck 'em all. If I was going to die now, I'd very much like to die together with Kiku.

"…O-okay…"

* * *

><p>"The community board was updated, Kiku…"<p>

"So it would seem." I was standing in front of the bulletin board again with Kiku on my back, examining the pictures on it. Now, there were five, four of which were marked with the ominous bloody "X".

And then, no surprise, I heard voices. Behind us. Whispering.

"_Four people have already been killed_…"

"_Soon, it'll be five_…"

"_Are your children okay_…?"

I quickly turned around, but like before, I found nothing but empty air.

"It's useless, Alfred," Kiku said patiently. "They're just voices."

He began reading the newspaper that we had filched from the doorstep of another nearby house.

"July 29," he said, frowning thoughtfully. "I think I'm starting to get all of this…"

"The time is moving forward, I guess?" I suggested.

"You're half right," Kiku said with an approving nod. "But more accurately—"

He stopped speaking halfway, and I saw a flash of light and a movement in the corner of my eye.

A human! I guess…?

"Did you see it, Kiku?" I said excitedly, pointing to the direction of the movement. I didn't notice his expression at the time. "It was a person! For the first time!"

"Follow him." His voice was low, ominous.

"Huh?" It was a testament to my inability to read the atmosphere on how dense I was at that time to not have noticed his tone of voice.

"What are you doing? Follow him!" was his irritated command, and I disregarded everything and just… ran.

From now on, I will never allow you to disappear from my sight.

And I remembered that I was the only one who can protect him right now.

No Antonio. No Herakles. Just me. Only insignificant, useless Alfred Jones.

And his Blood called out again, making my normal consciousness black out to let another in.

"_That is not dead which can eternal lie,_

"_And with strange eons even death may die_."

How true those verses are.

* * *

><p>I rounded a corner, with him still securely on my back. Once there, we saw a horrible sight.<p>

A mass of blood, and a dropped sickle. Which had bloodstains all over it.

"So the murders are still going on, I see," Kiku said with a smile. I can't read his expression.

"Kiku, this is—"

"In all probability, we are now reliving a memory," he said seriously, cutting me off. "The memory of this town itself!"

* * *

><p>I walked around some more, but carrying Kiku piggyback is a really hard job. It's not because he was moving all over (in fact, he was like some sort of limp Japanese doll and he doesn't really waste his movements, as I've said in the very beginning), and it's not because he was heavy (I should think that his heavy clothes take up almost half of his weight!), but it's because of the fact that I feel awkward being alone with him. Without someone as buffer between us, I feel as if Kiku can read my innermost thoughts. Maybe he can.<p>

Now don't get me wrong, as I'm really quite fond of him, but there's something in the air that—

"—_Alfred_. I said that there's a newspaper around your leg."

"Huh?" I looked down, and yeah, there it was, flapping on my ankles. I picked it up and glanced at the date.

"August 13. Another week has passed," he said with some interest. "Hand it over, will you?"

I handed him the newspaper, if only to stop him from whispering in my ear. His voice was so beautiful to my mortal ears that it was almost a sin to be the only one hearing it now.

Just then, I noticed something.

"Look, the houses look more rundown than when we first went in the village," I said uneasily. The windows of some of the houses were broken in places, and a desolate feel hung about the place. If there wasn't a warm blanket draped on my back right now (read: Kiku), I would have felt cold chills. Just then, I wondered about something. "Hey, Kiku?"

"What is it?" he replied while skimming on the headlines written on the paper.

"I wonder what's going to happen in this town in the end?" I finally said. "I mean, this is… a memory, right? And memories are in the past, so maybe in our world, we can find information about this incident?"

Kiku didn't answer, but instead pointed up ahead. "Look."

I looked at the direction that he pointed out and saw something that looked like a burnt building with only its foundations left. I was shocked, since we hadn't seen something like this when we first came.

"What in the name of God—?" I muttered in shock.

Kiku read a passage from the newspaper. "It was arson," he said calmly, and quoted from an article: "'The mansion belonging to the owner of the land was burned down yesterday night by the townspeople of A— village. They accused the eldest son, who was twenty-four years of age, of being the perpetrator of the recent murders in the town.'" He looked up. "This is caused by a lynch mob."

"Lynch mob…" I sighed heavily. "But at least the murders stopped, right? So—"

"Not quite," Kiku said, his eyes narrowing. "It says that the burnt corpse of the eldest son was found, but that night, another young girl was murdered."

"That's shit," I forced out.

"So evil invited evil," Kiku said with a sarcastic smile, putting his chin on my shoulder lightly. Was he perhaps reassuring me? "And thus it increased in this hapless town."

* * *

><p>The next time that we passed the community board, I was shocked. There were a lot of pictures on it already with big red crosses, but what astounded me was not the number.<p>

What scared me was the only uncrossed picture, stuck right in the middle with the big "MISSING" caption in red letters.

It was… Kiku.

"Kiku… you're on the board too…" I said slowly, the shock making my brain go twice as slow. "How and why—?"

"Remember the flash of light from earlier?" Kiku said seriously. "That must've been it. And their purpose for taking that picture was now unveiled." He pointed at the paper that lay on the side like a piece of discarded trash. "Let me see that one." He read for a bit and muttered, "It seems that the dam next to this town is going to be opened and then let the water flood this place after the next three years." He cocked his head at me.

I said nothing, but his large dark eyes seemed to have expected that kind of response.

"We should prepare to fight." He said this with a beautiful smile, and I knew that he was serious. "I know that someone is going to try to kill me very soon."

How could he say that with a smile? Was he crazy or something? Or maybe it was just the effect of having faced and thwarted Death for so many times before already…?

One thing was for sure. If he has that kind of attitude toward the unknown enemy tonight, then I should be too.  
>I have to protect Kiku!<p>

My eyes were beginning to blank out again, and the insatiable lust for bloodshed was slowly overwhelming me. In my ear, Kiku chuckled softly at my transformation. His Blood was like a virus. In a good sense, though.

Go, come out of your shell, hero.

* * *

><p>We went into an abandoned farmhouse, where I dropped Kiku off to let him explore the barn and choose the weapon of his choice. I found a pitchfork stuck in a heap of hay, and swung it around a few times to get the feel of it. Thanks to my transformation, the pitchfork weighed next to nothing. I could easily throw it if needed.<p>

Kiku seemed to have taken a liking to the large scythe that lay beside a wheelbarrow. He rather looked like a black Angel of Death (albeit his very Japanese look) when he swung the scythe across the air.

"Ready to kill," he announced in a honey-sweet voice. I almost smiled at the bloodlust in his tone.

However, a sudden loud announcement from somewhere startled us.

"_My fellow townspeople_!" the voice declared, sounding as if it was spoken through a megaphone. Maybe it was. "_We are going to discharge the water from the dam_!"

"What!" I muttered in confusion, sharing a perplexed look with Kiku.

"…_There was an unfortunate case in our town_," the speaker continued loudly. "_But this town is still our home_!"

"I thought the submersion was to be accomplished after three years?" I asked Kiku, and he nodded gravely.

"It was a bit too early," were the only words that he told me, and I frowned at the distant tower from where I assumed the speaker was from.  
>"Water!" he suddenly alerted me, and indeed, I could see water already splashing at my feet. I cast a look at Kiku and quickly lifted him up on my back again, scythe and all, and I ran, resolved to save him.<p>

"_This town housed our fathers and forefathers_," the speaker blared. "_This is the last time that we'll get to see this town! Let's all take a good look so that we can remember it_!"

"Run faster toward that school up ahead," Kiku instructed me in a slightly strained voice as the water quickly rose, finally lapping at my knees. "Or else we'll get drowned!"

Once we reached the front yard of the school, he instructed me to let him stand on the ground. I did so, but I worried a little—he was so slight. It seemed to me that a particularly strong current could carry him off. All the while, the water rose up to my waist. Kiku, who was just slightly shorter than me, had the water level at just below his obi.

"Another ruined kimono," he told me lightly. "I'll remember not to wear silk at walks like this."

I smiled at his attempt at lighthearted humor.

"It's empty here," I remarked, gesturing around the school grounds. "Is it safe?"

"Hmph." His smile widened. "This… is just perfect."

"I'll cover your back," I suggested, but he pressed a silencing finger on my lips.

"I told you," he said, all traces of humor gone, "to not disappear from my sight."

I was surprised at his words, but I nodded lightly. We took our positions, and I turned my back on Kiku so that he can cover me instead.  
>But a few minutes into the bargain, I felt as if my body had changed…<p>

The Blood is calling me! Urgently! Urgently!

_Kiku-dono… is in danger_!

…I looked back and saw my reflection on the blade of Kiku's scythe. My normally bright blue eyes had turned into vivid red, and my round pupils had turned into slits.

I had assumed my complete transformation as a Blood warrior. Perfect. Powerful.

"Alfred— What's the mat—"

"Behind you—! Kiku—!"

The large form of the killer rose from the water behind Kiku. He was a large man with a paper bag with eyeholes on his head, and he held a sickle in his right hand, raised as if to quickly sever Kiku's head from his shoulders—

But I had quickly dashed forward and intercepted the blow with my pitchfork, and with an almighty roar, I threw him off. Golly, was he strong. Even with my enhanced strength, he just went back a few steps!

Kiku's normally cool and composed face looked particularly murderous when he turned and saw the killer as he staggered back, and without a moment to lose, he swung his scythe around and caught the killer's neck, raining blood everywhere as he severed the man's head off. It was a total gore festival.

The body toppled backward as the head, still with the paper bag covering it, splashed in the still-rising water, turning it a deep crimson.

The water rose faster than ever. It was already at our necks. Kiku and I had to float along on our backs when it rose some more feet. A current was pushing us forward.

"Kiku…" I muttered wearily, as the effects of the transformation wore off. "Will we ever get back to our world?"

"I don't know," was his calm reply, and I sighed. "I just did what I can. What will be, will be."

"Kiku," I mumbled sleepily. "I'll protect you…"

I could almost hear the smile in his voice. "You just did, Alfred Jones."

And at that precise moment, I blacked out and felt no more.

* * *

><p>Herakles told us later on that he had found us lying on the area around the dam with soaking wet clothes, and that he had just taken us home all by himself since he can't find any nearby towns.<p>

…And that is how that creepy incident in A— town ended.

It sure was a bit too lame for a horror story, but a few days later, I went to the school library to check up on details pertaining to the events in A— town. But the search yielded nothing. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

But that death toll— There must've been a big deal about it, right?

Other than that experience, I couldn't confirm the existence of A— town. I wonder why.

But still, I think…

…That A— town must still exist somewhere.

Signing off, _Al Jones_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: *gigglegigglesnort***

**I can't breathe… 'scuse me…**

**How did you like the piggyback, Alfie? Hmm… I can say that I've liked it, dude. You must have too!**

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum remembers flashes of memories from days of past glory. Omake chapter.

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><p><strong>Character List<strong>:

**_You guys were speculating which country was which, so here is the incomplete character list!_**

_So far, we have these characters._

—**Kiku/Japan** - eighteen years old, second son and third child of the Royalty. Once a month, he can use his Blood power, the ability to manipulate solid objects and transform them into new ones

—**Alfred/America** - seventeen years old, Kiku's Blood warrior. Possesses infinite strength when in his full transformation

—**Matthew/Canada** - Alfred's quite-oblivious twin brother

—**Herakles/Greece** - Kiku's personal android who loves cats a bit too much

—**Antonio/Spain** - twenty-five years old, lover of Lovino Vargas

—**Lovino/South Italy** - twenty-five years old, Kiku's Werewolf vassal who betrayed his master

—**Arthur/England** - seventeen years old in human appearance, a pureblooded Vampire that attends school in the morning without problem  
>—ElizavetaHungary - Alfred's nosy and noisy classmate

—**Xiao Chun/Hong Kong** - sixteen years old, Kiku's younger brother, third son and fourth child of the Royalty. Uses pyrotechnics as weapons  
>—SadıkTurkey - Xiao's personal android who wears a mask over the upper part of his face

—**Yao/China** - twenty years old, Kiku's elder brother, first son and child of the Royalty. Possesses the Golden Eyes, or the permanent ability to wound from afar

—**Ivan/Russia** - Yao's mysterious Blood warrior

—**Feliciano/North Italy** - twenty-three years old, Lovino's younger brother. Yao's Werewolf vassal

—**Ludwig/Germany** - android working for Francis until he learns about the truth pertaining to his true self

—**Simon/Denmark, Lukas/Norway, Berwald/Sweden** - three immortal Werewolves sent by one of Kiku's siblings to kill the prince

—**Francis/France** - Vampire that runs the general hospital

—**Yong Soo/South Korea** - fifteen years old, Kiku's youngest brother, fourth son and fifth child of the Royalty. Mischievous and the most ambitious among Kiku's siblings

—**Eun Soo/North Korea** - Yong Soo's sickly younger twin sister. Indefinite status

—**Mei/Taiwan** - fourteen years old, Kiku's youngest sister, second known daughter and sixth known child of the Royalty. Little is known about her, except the fact that she joined Yong Soo for an alliance

—**Gilbert/Prussia** - the royalty of the Vampires. Kim's Blood warrior who turned upon his own master

—**Kim/Vietnam** - nineteen years old, Kiku's elder sister, first daughter and second child of the Royalty. Believed to have died because of the invisible kitsune

—**Lili/Liechtenstein** - the Mermaid now under Yao's care

_Watch out for the last three characters, dudes~ *smirk*_

_And a hint to my question last chapter: Have you watched Princess Resurrection yet? _


	12. Chrysanthemum

_**Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?  
><strong>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)_

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Kiku and Alfred somehow got trapped in the memory of a serial killer. Luckily for them, they kept their head amidst the horrors that the haunted village stored for them and broke free of the nightmare. On the course of the battle, Alfred had expanded his Blood abilities and had successfully assumed his final transformation, earning him strength that he wouldn't have known possible.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum remembers some memories from 'that' night. Omake with bearings on the story.

**Disclaimer**: I will never, ever own APH, guys and gals! All rights reserved by all concerned parties!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Twelfth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Chrysanthemum<em>

* * *

><p>The sounds of shouting and excited yelling were what woke up Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum one clear Saturday morning. He slid the shoji leading to the central courtyard open, and saw that Alfred and Antonio were causing a great racket by fighting. Alfred had somehow grabbed hold of a rapier from the house and was jabbing at Antonio, but the Werewolf was either too quick or Alfred too slow as Antonio always managed to parry or dodge all of Alfred's pathetic blows.<p>

Kiku smirked lightly as Antonio suddenly went on the offense and knocked Alfred away on the grass and almost into the lotus pond. Feeling rather cautious of his well-tended plants, Kiku called out, "Move the session into the front lawn, Antonio. You'll ruin the flowers if Alfred continues his pathetic performance."

Alfred looked rather crestfallen at the cruelly playful statement, but Kiku just flashed him a sweetly mocking smile and closed the shoji, cutting himself off from the pair's line of sight.

* * *

><p>Kiku had a simple breakfast in the second dining room (the only room in the house which was furnished in the Western style), consisting of eggs and slices of tuna over tossed garlic rice, with some soup on the side. Alfred and Matthew stood by Kiku's left side as was customary while Herakles was on the right, holding the tea tray very disinterestedly.<p>

"_Gochisosama-deshita, Matthew-san_," Kiku said lightly as he joined his hands in what Alfred perceived was a namaste gesture.

Matthew bowed shyly, placed the empty dishes onto a tray, and went out silently. The door closed with a snap as Kiku noticed Alfred's face, which was weirdly dissatisfied.

"What did you learn from your training session with Antonio-san, Alfred?" Kiku finally asked the teenager. Alfred just shrugged with a moody look.

"Hum, I surmised as much," Kiku muttered, half to himself, as he drank a cup of red tea. Alfred forced himself not to roll his eyes with some difficulty.

Herakles watched blandly as Kiku took the katana propped by his chair and unsheathed it completely. The black metal of the blade glinted unmercifully in the sunlight streaming by the open window.

"Alfred, to be able to score a hit upon an opponent isn't all there is to combat," Kiku said seriously, an odd look engulfing his dark eyes as he turned the sword in his hands on every which way without cutting his spotless skin. "Engaging a battle with a cunning opponent also requires thinking and morals."  
>Alfred cracked a smile. "You're the last person I've expected to let the word 'morals' pass through his lips, Kiku."<p>

Kiku's smile grew into a smirk, and he held the point of his katana onto Alfred's neck. "Watch your footsteps, little one. Or you'll lose your head, by the Blood of the Golden Chrysanthemum."

Knowing the rule whenever Kiku's mood was at its sweet worst, Alfred held up his hands warily, and Kiku drew the blade away.

"That's better." Kiku sighed and finished his tea. "I have told you in the past that this was given by Yao-nii-sama, right?"

"I don't think you have," Alfred replied, frowning.

"Well, you're under Arthur Kirkland's influence then, I forgot," Kiku mused, idly tapping the katana's sheath on the table. "And its black blade brings a lot of memories to mind… especially of that night when I've lost everything…" He scowled at the sword and let out a sorrowful breath. "I hate this sword as much as I love it…"

He watched his reflection on the black blade of the sword, wondering for the first time about what happened to the person he once was, and blinked once at it.

* * *

><p>The dark eye reflected on the metallic surface blinked back once, then one more time. The boy who held it wiped the blade of the silver katana one more time and smiled at his work, replacing the sword in its sheath with a neat click.<p>

17-year-old and a mere child by Royal standards, Kiku of the White Chrysanthemum understood beauty of all things. Of all of okaa-sama's children, he was the most softhearted and artistic-minded. Kiku was innocent, naive, and emotionally gullible, and those qualities of his made him the weakest link to the eyes of his brothers.

Kiku loved (and hoarded) animals of all kinds: cats, dogs, rabbits—there was even an incident wherein he tried to take care of the mice that ruined Yao's favorite plants, to the dismay of the elder—but he was the only one in the family who loved the poor creatures. He was also the caretaker of his elder siblings' neglected or thrown-away things. As Kim had described him to Yao, Kiku was a "long-suffering, yet still sweet-tempered angel."

"_Kiku-nii-sama_?" The voice made him act quickly as he tucked the little fox inside his warm hanten.

Elder brothers in the Royal Family are always "_nii-sama_", and likewise all elder sisters are "_nee-sama_." Kiku suspected that the use of the extremely formal honorific "-_sama_" was a mark of how estranged each sibling was from each other. Kiku thought that this was the best course for all of them, since once twelve-year-old Mei entered her teens (and that day was drawing ever closer), they'll all be killing each other anyway.

Kiku tried hard not to think of that. It made his head spin with fear.

Yao was the eldest, and therefore he was the obvious favorite for the Throne, being at an unusual advantage. Yao was unique because he was the only one of kaa-sama's children who possessed a different color of eyes, the fearsome Golden Eyes, and he was the eldest, which was a very dangerous advantage. His status as the eldest meant that the younger ones had to quickly eliminate Yao before he transforms into his adult form. Which feat was well nigh impossible. Yao was fearfully invincible.

"What are you doing, nii-sama?" From the voice, Kiku was now sure that it was Eun Soo, Yong Soo's thankfully sane twin.

Kiku grimaced when the fox began scratching him. "You'll get cold if I let you out, kitsune-san," he whispered, and the fox mercifully listened and stopped. "Eun Soo, is that you?" he added out loud, as he heard Eun Soo's footsteps sound louder on the soft snow.

"Yes, nii-sama," and Eun Soo peeked out from a still-flowering rose bush nearby. Kiku was rather fascinated at how his mother's Blood kept the plants at the garden stubbornly blossoming even while winter. "What are you doing there? You'll get cold…"

"I'm quite all right," Kiku answered anxiously. Eun Soo crinkled her dark brow at the sight of Kiku crouching on the snow suspiciously.

"You aren't hiding another cat in there, are you? You're just like your android Herakles."

Kiku flashed her a weak smile at having been caught. "It's not a cat," he said feebly. "It's a—fox."

"Worse and worse!" Eun Soo sighed, but Kiku could see her smile breaking through. "I'd understand if it's a cat, but foxes? They're another kind of creature, I should think!"

"Well, it's only for the winter, it's so cold out here," Kiku said defensively, but Eun Soo finally smiled widely.

"Gosh, I'm just teasing you, nii-sama. You should loosen up a bit." Eun Soo crouched down the snow beside Kiku and said, "Where's the fox?"

"Here." Kiku produced the fox from inside his clothes. Eun Soo giggled at that.

"Nii-sama, you're so funny even if you aren't trying to be funny," she remarked.

"How should I take that?"

"Compliment, I s'pose," Eun Soo said, petting the pointed ears of the fox. "Are you sure that this isn't a spirit fox or something? Spirit foxes are quite mischievous, you know…"

"I would've known, Eun Soo," Kiku said earnestly.

They petted the fox for quite some time, and Kiku wished that all days are as peaceful as this one.

* * *

><p>But of course that was not the case. Royal children still think and act like mortals do, unlike adults, who are already omnipotent, omniscient, and fully immortal.<p>

Yong Soo had shown signs of wanting to succeed the Throne, and it shook Kiku to think about how Yong Soo must fulfill his dreams. Yong Soo had never been close to anyone except his twin, and even that relationship was a bit strained, what with their many disagreements of opinion over every little thing.

Kiku had never nourished a desire to be ruler, but it was compulsory that only one of them must become Ruler. And in order to do that…

Kiku tore a rose from the bush below his windowsill and anxiously held it to his heart for comfort.

* * *

><p>And that fearful day came, when Mei finally turned thirteen…<p>

"My children, come here, I have something to tell you all."

It was at the end of Mei's birthday dinner, and kaa-sama was standing up and was beginning to address her numerous children. She was a beautiful woman with kind eyes when in her human form, and a very bedazzling creature—Kiku can't discern what kind of creature kaa-sama is because it blinds them to do so—in her true form.

"Please speak up now, okaa-sama, ana~" Annan, Kiku's bespectacled sixteen-year-old brother, was saying as politely as always.

Bataar, Kiku's thirteen-year-old brother, rolled his eyes at Annan. That earned him a loving cuff on the ear from Kim.

"Mind your manners, otoutou," she said sweetly. Kiku sighed at the display. "Do not forget, Annan is still your nii-sama."

"You are not ignorant of the struggle for the Royal Battle, and I know that much." Kaa-sama turned her dark eyes around all her seated children. "All of the training that you have accumulated while in my house leads to this. I do not want to see my children hacking each other into pieces, but such is the fate of a Royal child—to kill his or her siblings for the Throne, or to be killed him- or herself." Kaa-sama took a deep breath. "Kiku, stop playing with your goblet, for goodness's sake. You're distracting me."

Kiku immediately lowered the glass, his head meekly bowed. Yao snorted softly.

"Anyway, as I was saying, now that Mei is also a teenager, you will now have to live separately. All of you." Yong Soo, beside Kiku, slyly knocked his elder brother's glass to the floor, where it shattered. Kaa-sama glared at Kiku. "Kiku, if you're not the least bit interested, please go out."

Kiku stared pointedly at Yong Soo, but the younger's face was blank, so he considerately owned up. "I'm sorry, kaa-sama. You may continue."

Kaa-sama sighed. "Well, continuing on, I expect that you all know the rules of the Royal war. I'm going to recount them to make myself clear: Never use an army, except for your Blood warriors. Never resurrect anyone that you yourself had killed. For the older ones, never use your Blood power against your siblings. Of course, Yao's eyes are not a result of Blood power, so I think that is an exception to that rule. If you are versatile enough, anything can be your weapon." Kaa-sama sighed. "I hate to say this, but if anyone of you, and I mean anyone"—she glared at Bataar, who was idly watching Anaan out of the corner of his eye like a bird of prey—"I shall not hesitate to condemn you. Even if you are my child.

"Well, since you interrupted me the most, I'll ask you first where you'd like to live on your own?" Okaa-sama looked at Kiku with a straightforward glance.  
>"I haven't decided yet—" Kiku burst out, startled at the question.<p>

"Well, decide quickly." Okaa-sama looked at Yao, who was looking impatient. "Yao?"

"I'm going out to the frozen land of the Muscovites, kaa-sama," Yao declared. "I might find myself a Blood warrior there."

"Depart now, my son. By the Blood of the Sacred Fenghuang, be safe," Okaa-sama said, nodding and waving a hand. With a flash of flame, Yao was gone with his android. Kiku was apprehensive as he watched the smoldering remnants of the fire on Yao's seat.

"Kim?" Okaa-sama nodded at Kim lightly.

"I'm going to the realm of the Vampires, mother," Kim said. There was an awkward silence as Okaa-sama frowned.

"Why the Vampires? Have you forgotten that they're an enemy of the Royalty?"

Kim smiled reassuringly at her. "Mother, I have my own methods. I can manage pretty well by myself."

Okaa-sama let out a troubled sigh. "By the Blood of the Sacred Fenghuang, go, my daughter." She waved her hand again, and Kim was gone with her android in a flash of flames.

"Kiku," Okaa-sama said lightly.

"I shall try my luck in the world of mortals, kaa-sama," Kiku finally said, his voice barely above a whisper but otherwise carrying clearly enough through the hall. "There are a lot of possibilities for Blood warriors there."

"Wise yet feeble choice, my son," Okaa-sama said gravely. "Mortals are too fragile."

"I shall manage," Kiku found himself saying. "I have my Hera-chan with me."

"Go safely, my son." Okaa-sama waved her hand. "By the Blood of the Sacred Fenghuang—"

—A flash of fire, and Kiku and Herakles was whisked from their comfort zone into the world of mortals, the prince's eyes tightly shut as darkness engulfed them both.

* * *

><p>Thus Kiku of the White Chrysanthemum became Kiku Honda, the chrysanthemum on the bottom of the field. From his mother's palace, he was transported in a large mansion situated in the middle of a forest in central Europe.<p>

Kiku knew next to nothing about mortal customs, so he kept to himself in the day and opting to go out in the night to scour the country for Blood warriors. His nightly appearance had mystified some of the mortals who had the misfortune to see him, and the boy clad in the white kimono became somewhat of an urban legend. In just a span of half a year, he had amassed quite a number of Blood warriors in this way.

What he didn't know was what a sibling of his had in store for him…

* * *

><p>"Kiku-sama, run! Go somewhere far and safe! We'll hold them off!"<p>

The alarm had gone up at midnight, and Kiku was startled to know that an army of Zombies were going up to his mansion.

"Impossible…" Herakles had said in his usual tone of voice, but Kiku knew that Herakles was also puzzling about it. "As far as I know… Zombies only come… in one or two at a time… not in an army… as large as this…"

"That means that a sibling of mine had sent them," Kiku realized with a thrill of horror. "Despicable!"

"Kiku-sama! Go now! We'll hold them off!" a breathless shout rang, and Kiku turned from the balcony to look at the speaker.

Kiku stared in shock at the commander of his army of Blood warriors, his soft and innocent dark eyes round and shocked at the commander's words.

"I can't just leave you here! You're all Blood warriors… You'll all expire after a few days without my Blood!" Kiku was shaking his head frantically, tears suddenly threatening to fall from his gentle eyes.

"You cannot defeat them… Kiku…" Herakles said seriously. "Zombies… are abominations of nature… and cannot die again… because they are dead… already…"  
>Kiku's eyes were blank.<p>

"Kiku-sama… It is our highest honor to die in battle for you… We only live to protect you… So please… just go…!"

Herakles grabbed the prince around the waist when he didn't move, and together they fled. Herakles had the foresight to grab the long, thin katana that rested innocently against the wall.

A flash of fire… The palace went up in flames…

"Kiku-sama—!"

* * *

><p>Herakles roughly grabbed Kiku by the arm when the prince turned back again as if to go back to the mansion. They were a long distance already from the mansion, but they could still see the flickering orange light of the fire that was eating up the building. Kiku could still hear the shouts of his Blood warriors echoing inside his head, and when Herakles's iron grip refused to slacken, he sank to the ground in a limp heap instead, his shoulders racking with suppressed sobs. Herakles just watched him, his android eyes unable to express his sympathy for his broken master.<p>

"Kiku?"

Herakles's head turned at the direction of the sudden call, and saw that it was Yao, walking quickly to them in long strides, his rich red silk robe rippling. His android, which was presently in the shape of a green dragon, was circling above him.

"What happened, Herakles, aru ka?" the eldest Royal child demanded of the android, who looked sleepily at him. "Aiyaa, what caused all of this ruckus? Why did okaa-sama summon me in this world, and at this time of night?"

"Yao-nii-sama…" Kiku looked up at Yao, his normally vibrant dark eyes blank and emotionless. "Maybe it is more prudent to ask who did this."

Yao scowled. "Has the Royalty come yet, aru ka?"

"Not yet…" Herakles answered slowly. "But they may… well be… on their way…"

Yao watched the flames from afar. "And who is the fool that dared break the law, aru…" He turned to Kiku and reached out as if to touch his shoulder, but with an inhuman snarl, Kiku grabbed the silver katana slung on Herakles's back, slid it neatly out of the sheath, and pointed it threateningly at his brother, who looked startled at gentle Kiku's sudden display of aggressiveness.

Threads of black was mysteriously crawling along the silver blade, and Yao was stunned to recognize the sword that he had given Kiku on the latter's seventeenth birthday, now looking very much like an innocent person getting infected by the shadows of reality. Just like Kiku.

"Do not attempt to touch me again, onii-sama," Kiku hissed, his paranoia making his dark eyes flash dangerously as he trained his sight on Yao's pale hand. "Or I shall not hesitate to lop off your hand!"

Yao looked taken aback, but with a bat of an eyelid, he sent the sword out of Kiku's grasp. "It is well of you to threaten me, little one, aru, but you are too weak for me to take seriously."

Angry tears were escaping from Kiku's eyes as he lunged forward and grabbed Yao by his collar. "Oh, are you perhaps insinuating that _you can eliminate me whenever you wish_, onii-sama?" he said scornfully, eyes blazing out of their emotionless state. "Look at what's happened to me! I abandoned my Blood warriors and left them to die without me… By the Blood of the White Chrysanthemum, this is double treason!"

Yao stared into Kiku's eyes, and saw the latter's reason beginning to snap into two. "We'll find the culprit, Kiku, aru… definitely."

A light filled the place, and the Royalty had finally come.

* * *

><p>Yao compassionately took his emotionally-damaged brother under his wing for a while, and noticed that Kiku had retreated almost completely into himself. If someone hadn't known what the adolescent had recently gone through, he or she might have described Kiku as callous and soulless.<p>

He had lost the will to communicate with others, and stayed in his room all day, every day, with his blank eyes gazing emotionlessly out the window. He had lost all interest in anything, and Yao suspected that his incessant window-gazing was a symptom of something like trauma.

That's why it surprised him when, two months of moping later, smack on his eighteenth birthday, Kiku suddenly went out of his room voluntarily, wearing a somber black yukata. He looked as of he was exhausted from all the thinking that he must have done, and his dark eyes, formerly so gentle and warm, were now so apathetic that they bordered on cold-bloodedness. Even Yao was quite fearful at the change in Kiku's temperament.

"Kiku?" Yao had been writing something at his desk when Kiku went into his room, but quickly stood up at the sight of his brother. "What—?"

"Onii-sama," Kiku said quietly, and his voice sounded rusty from underuse, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it, aru ka?" Yao found himself wishing to the gods to not, repeat not, let Kiku ask that thing of him—

"Teach me. Teach me how to fight… them."

_Oh, no._

At that instant, Yao somehow knew that it would be hopeless to even argue.

* * *

><p>Kiku proved to be a brilliant student. He was a natural tactician, and his slight body proved to be so quick that he already managed to take Yao by surprise in just the first month of training. After the second month, Kiku could use every item in the house as a deadly weapon—from the innocent-looking bridles of Yao's horses to the sharp-toothed rake resting beside a maple tree in the orchard.<p>

Now, if physical combat was the only thing that Kiku needed to excel in in order to ascend upon the Throne, he might have defeated all of his siblings singlehandedly. Yao knew that. Kiku had a lot of potential to become the Ruler, and thankfully, or perhaps unluckily for the Kingdom, the only thing lacking was the ambition.

Yao knew that Kiku wasn't after the Throne. He was just lusting for revenge.

* * *

><p>"The golden chrysanthemum is a beautiful flower, is it not?" Kiku mused, as he strolled with Yao in the garden. "The flower itself symbolizes death and power, while its color symbolizes luck." He chuckled darkly, and Yao scowled.<p>

"Kiku, what are you thinking of?" he wondered out loud.

"Maybe I should change my symbol, nii-sama," Kiku replied, and he plucked a yellow chrysanthemum from a plant. "I shall henceforth be known as Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum. It reeks so much of death… that is what makes it so beautiful!"

He bit his finger, and dribbled a little amount of Blood on the petals of the chrysanthemum. It glowed beautifully, and stayed as fresh as when it was first picked, even a long while afterward.

* * *

><p>"Black was never your color, Kiku," Yao had remarked as he helped Kiku wear a black silk kimono with bright red accents. It was planned that Kiku should be leaving this afternoon, and wearing the heavy kimono was some sort of farewell ceremony.<p>

"Yao-nii-sama, I am just in mourning for the traitor who wiped out my army," was Kiku's sardonic reply as he slipped his arms through the long, heavy sleeves. "It is fitting to wear black, because once I kill him with my own two hands, his face will be so twisted with fear that not one of you will recognize him, much less mourn for him. So I'm going to do the mourning myself. Surely it is more considerate."

Yao just sighed and went out after helping Kiku dress. He had learned a long time ago to cross Kiku not. The boy was now too apathetic to feel any remorse if he did kill him out of mere playfulness.

* * *

><p>"This is where okaa-sama's third house was situated?" Kiku asked Herakles, looking around the town with a bored expression. "It's too drab and small a place… but it would have to do. And that is the house on top of the hill, mayhap?"<p>

Herakles, who was carrying the luggage and all of his cats, just nodded.

Kiku sighed lightly. "Let's go. It is not meet to keep our new housekeeper waiting."

Kiku and Herakles were walking for quite a while when he saw the erratic van weaving through the road toward them.

"Hmph," he muttered. "Hera-chan, if you—"

Kiku found himself unable to continue his statement when someone shoved them pair of them out of danger's way, and then—

The van slammed against the someone, and skittered off the side of the road. Feeling faintly curious, Kiku approached the gathering crowd around the person, with Herakles tagging along beside him.

It was a tall, blond young man, presumably in his late teens. His shattered glasses lay about a foot from him, and blood was running sluggishly down the side of his pale face. His blue eyes were dull at first, but when he saw Kiku standing beside him and gazing at him, they lighted up with something akin to relief. Kiku was puzzled with the reaction, and something stirred within him.

He risked his poor, short mortal life to save me from a danger that my Hera-chan could prevent himself. Such a strange mortal…

Kiku could see the relieved lights in the blue eyes quickly dimming, though, and he came upon a snap decision that made him smile.

Turning his face slightly to Herakles, he remarked, "He's a rather dense one, isn't he…? _But he makes such a beautiful corpse, Hera-chan…_ A worthy possession, if I might say so myself…"

The blue eyes looked faintly puzzled at his statement, and finally passed out.

Kiku chuckled softly at this.

"Let's go, Hera-chan. There's the ambulance."

* * *

><p>The hospital morgue was eerily silent, the dead neatly laid on steel beds, their bodies covered and arranged carefully. It was late in the night, and well beyond the hospital's visitor hours.<p>

Eighteen-year-old Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum slipped inside, wearing the somber black-and-red kimono with the dull red obi. His steps were quick, purposeful and light, and his face held an expression of amused stoicism.

He made his way around the beds, as if knowing which person was which even without peeking under the cloth covers, and stopped at a certain corpse. The corpse was already growing cold.

The prince acted quickly, nipping at his index finger hard enough to draw Blood. It glowed a bright, fiery red through the darkness.

He then stretched his bitten finger over where he supposed the corpse's mouth should be so that a drop of Blood dribbled on the white cloth covering the body.

Kiku smiled slightly and watched the glowing red of his own Blood seep into the covers, and began whispering to the corpse-which-will-soon-be-not-a-corpse.

"_And now I bequeath to thee a second life_."

* * *

><p>"—Kiku."<p>

Alfred's loud voice abruptly brought Kiku back to the present, and he sighed, annoyed. "What?"

"I said I'm now going out to help Matt with the groceries. If you'll excuse me." And with an exaggerated bow, he walked out, leaving Kiku with his tea and staring at the door through which Alfred just went out.

"Hera-chan, am I going crazy?" Kiku asked idly.

If they just programmed the android to have the ability of smiling, Herakles must have smiled.

Kiku slapped his cheek lightly with a grimace and watched his reflection on the red liquid in his cup.

_I am still an idiot. And stop looking at me like that, hansha-san. You're freaking me out_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: —And that's how Kiku learned to speak German, haha. And did you perhaps spot the AmeriPan foreshadowing? (The rose that Kiku plucked from the bush **_AND_** held next to his heart? America's national flower…*shot*)**

**Next chapter's going to be a little fun, what with Oresama's return! (I won't kill him right away, duh.)**

* * *

><p><strong>New Characters!<strong>

**Annan of the Golden Shower - **Kiku's younger brother. Mysterious, bespectacled, and polite. Indefinite status.

**Bataar of the White Lotus - **Kiku's younger brother. Another shadowy character. Seems to have a grudge against Annan, but uncertain. Indefinite status.

**Okaa-sama -** the present Ruler of the Kingdom, Kiku's mother. Her true shape is that of a dazzling _fenghuang_.

**Yao's Android -** unique model, having the ability to fly and transform into any creature. Still unnamed.

* * *

><p><strong>And you can visit me at my Tumblr (click the 'Homepage' link in my profile) if you can! It's got some Hetalia pictures that I edited lightly! And I made two posters for <strong>_Zetsubou_** there. :)) You might notice in one of the posters that I called Alfred as Alfred "of the Golden Chrysanthemum." Well, he's under Kiku, so I think that'll be a fitting title.**

**The edits are mine, but the drawings still belong to Himaruya-san. Thanks!**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: After a month of being hypnotized by Arthur, Elizaveta Héderváry, she of the photography club, FINALLY finds out the truth about Arthur's nature and decides to investigate further. Also, Gilbert Beilschmidt makes true on his promise and comes to banish Arthur from being a Vampire.


	13. Banishment

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Last time, we learned of Kiku's history and how he changed into the way he was now.<p>

Kiku was the second son and third child of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of the Rising Sun, the family that governs over all supernatural creatures. Thus, his destiny has been preordained—to kill, or be killed.

Two questions now remain: Who will win this sibling bloodbath? And will Kiku finally exact justice to the unknown traitor who destroyed his innocence?

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, mortal!Hungary, and thousands of Vampires. You know what that means. It's a blood festival!

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: After a month of being hypnotized by Arthur, Elizaveta Héderváry, she of the photography club, FINALLY finds out the truth about Arthur's nature and decides to investigate further. Meanwhile, Gilbert Beilschmidt makes true on his promise and sends an army of Vampires to banish Arthur from his kind.

**Disclaimer**: I will never, ever own APH, guys and gals! All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thirteenth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Banishment<em>

* * *

><p>Click! Click! Click!<p>

Elizaveta's eyes gleamed with excitement as she snapped a few more pictures of Arthur Kirkland at school, whether he was talking with his friends, participating at Student Council activities, or other some such things.

"I now know your secret, Arthur Kirkland!" she said to herself with a challenging grin. "I should expose it… for the benefit of mankind!"

* * *

><p>"Alfred! Hey!"<p>

Alfred Jones sighed and reluctantly turned to Elizaveta, who was waving excitedly for him to come over, quickly. Abandoning his bag and leaving it slung on his chair, he went to Elizaveta. The girl was holding a dull blue folder with "CONFIDENTIAL!" written with a black marker.

"Liz, what's it this time? I gotta go early this afternoon, or else my brother's gonna get my hide tanned." Alfred snuck a tentative glance at his waterproof wristwatch as he spoke, for emphasis.

"Come on, Al, this is important!" Elizaveta whined and said frantically, "Is Arthur out—?"

"He's going home early. He said he didn't feel well," Alfred answered cautiously. Unlike lower-class Vampires, Arthur wasn't that repellent of sunlight, but on particularly sunny days, he was prone to passing out suddenly. Today was not really that sunny, but Arthur had mentioned something about feeling lightheaded all day because of the cloudy light.

"Great!" Elizaveta smiled. She passed the folder onto Alfred. "Open it and see!"

Alfred slowly opened the folder, and his eyes widened at the single picture that was nestled there: that of Arthur leaping gracefully down the side of his two-storey house from the rooftop.

Alfred glanced warily at Elizaveta, who apparently mistook Alfred's shocked look as one of fear, rather than as one of shock at having one of the secrets from his alter life found out. "Well?" She leaned in closer for dramatic effect. "In this class, you're the closest guy by far to Arthur, am I right? Well, I'm taking the liberty to tell you that—" She took a deep, steadying breath. "Arthur Kirkland is… a vampire—!"

"V-vampire?" Alfred was so shocked that he actually laughed. "Oh! I— oh! I mean, that's—! Er—"

Elizaveta sighed at Alfred and shook a finger at him sympathetically. "I understand your reaction well! That was my reaction too when I first hit upon that conclusion! I mean, Arthur? The Arthur Kirkland, a vampire? Whoa! But see, Alfie," and she nodded her head knowingly, "vampires are somewhat of a cat nature, opposite to their mortal enemies which are werewolves! So therefore, they can move gracefully and jump from high places only to land on their feet perfectly!

"I think you've been reading too much Twilight, Liz," Alfred attempted feebly, but Elizaveta overrode him.

"Therefore we must act for the benefit of the people surrounding us!" she was declaring with a manic gleam in her eye, one that Alfred didn't necessarily like. "This is our duty!"

* * *

><p>Herakles was about to take a nap after mowing the lawn when he heard someone behind him. He spun around, all senses on alert, as the someone stopped with an eerie sound.<p>

He saw a young girl with tanned skin and dark hair done up in two tails with bits of red ribbon. She was also wearing a blue dress ripped at the hem. Herakles couldn't say why she seemed so familiar, until it hit him suddenly.

The girl held out her left arm, or should we say, what was left of her left arm, which was the part from the elbow up. The rest was missing. Broken wires and gears peeked out from the stump of her broken arm, and with an unpleasant shock, Herakles understood immediately.

"Héraclès," the girl said with a weak smile. "Could you help me out? S'il vous plaît? I'm kinda… worn out."

* * *

><p>"It's been a while, Sheru-chan," Kiku said with a nod when Herakles presented the android Michelle to him. "Although I wonder why you are still alive…"<br>"I share the same sentiments, Kiku-sama," Michelle said with a light tone, curtseying prettily to the prince with only one hand. "And I, too, do not know how I escaped with just an arm missing. It could have been worse."

"You came here for repairs, right?" Kiku sighed. "We could do that here, but our equipment is rather limited, so…" He glanced slyly at Herakles. "Hera-chan, summon Sadık-san here. We will need his help."

Herakles scowled so lightly that a casual observer might not have noticed it, but Kiku did, and laughed.

"Come, let's not ruin that philosophical face of yours," Kiku said in a playfully coaxing tone. "Sheru-chan is one of the Royalty's androids, and it would be discourtesy not to provide her with the help that she now needs. Ne, Hera-chan?"

Michelle bowed to the prince when Herakles left. "Merci, Kiku-sama. It's really of importance to me to be repaired immediately."

"It's nothing, Sheru-chan," Kiku said coolly. "And while we wait for Hera-chan to come back with Sadık-san, won't you mind explaining to me why you are still alive when we all thought that my sister is already dead?"

* * *

><p>"So you are saying that my Kim-nee-sama is not dead, as the report had stated," Kiku said with a dark look at Michelle, who smiled uncertainly.<br>"Oui, Kiku-sama…" Michelle bowed her head humbly. They were in the second dining room, with Kiku sitting at the head of the long table and Michelle standing at the foot. "And I am the living proof. It was just so complicated… I myself cannot…"

Kiku hummed lightly to himself for a few minutes, then spoke again. "Where is my sister, Sheru-san?"

"She is captured by Gilbert Beilschmidt, Kiku-sama," Michelle said with a sorrowful sigh. "The backstabbing traître turned on his own master…"

Kiku's features lit up with a wicked smile. "He did? Well, upon hearing that, I suddenly had a desire to go and chop Gilbert Beilschmidt's head off right now, Sheru-chan…"

* * *

><p>"You don't believe me after all, do you?"<p>

Elizaveta's irritated voice rang out in the afternoon as she followed Alfred persistently through the streets of the city. Personally, Alfred had to wonder why he hadn't heeded Matthew's reminders and gone home at the first ring of the bell.

"Certainly, vampires and werewolves had been considered as mythological creatures for millenniums, but can't you think about it for just this once?" Elizaveta persisted, stomping after Alfred as the latter walked casually into a fast food restaurant. "Instead, if we just assume that there were people who just went and created stories about them for convenience…"

Alfred tried not to focus on her and tried to concentrate on the process of ordering when his turn at the counter came. "One triple cheeseburger please, and an upsized soda—"

"I get it!" Elizaveta snarled, grabbing at Alfred's collar suddenly and wheeling him around to make him face her. "If you'll go that far to deny that they exist, then you must be hiding something that I don't know!"

Alfred was taken aback. "I didn't say anything about—"

"You're too easy to read, Alfred F. Jones," Elizaveta yelled, making several heads turn. "Don't even try to deny it!"

Alfred was rolling his eyes inwardly at Elizaveta's behavior. "Leggo of me, I told you that I'm not going in some stupid vampire hunt or whatsoever—"

"Oh, a vampire hunt? Sounds interesting, Alfredo!"

Alfred and Elizaveta stopped in surprise and looked at the speaker. With a thrill of horror, Alfred realized that it was Antonio entering the restaurant.

"Eh?" Elizaveta frowned at Antonio, who just grinned. "And who are you, mister?"

"Alfredo's friend," Antonio said, shooting Alfred a smug look. "And what about vampires, señorita?"

Elizaveta stammered at Antonio's coaxing tone. "I—I know that besides the vampire's actual house, he also frequents an old church hidden in the woods not far from here…"

"Interesante," Antonio said with a wide smile, and Alfred knew that he meant it.

* * *

><p>The old church bore marks of its former grandeur—the haunted stained-glass windows, the faded stone walls, the worn oaken doors. Alfred, Antonio, and Elizaveta now stood before it, the wind suddenly whipping across their faces and adding to the presentiment of terror that hung in the place.<p>

"So this is where Kirkland holes out whenever I don't find him at his house," Antonio remarked, rolling his eyes. "He's really asking for it, el hijo de puta Vampiro." He looked curiously at Elizaveta, who was snapping pictures of the place. "Señorita, how did you find this place?"

"It's an art," Elizaveta answered enthusiastically. "Well, Arthur Kirkland has been my special study for weeks past. I mean, he's so perfect, you know? Much too perfect, if you get me…"

Alfred snorted. "It sounds more as if you're stalking him, Liz."

Antonio snickered. "Whatever. Let's go in, shall we, Alfredo?"

But when the two made as if to go in, Elizaveta squeaked with apprehension.

"Wait!" she said nervously. "We don't know what may be inside!"

"Then we'll leave you here," Antonio said shortly. "Come on, Alfredo!"

Elizaveta sighed loudly and finally followed the pair, and the door shut with an ominous echo.

Meanwhile, countless shadows treaded on the churchyard outside, as if waiting for their prey to come out of the church…

* * *

><p>"So you brought it, right?"<p>

They were now standing before the altar, where a black coffin was placed. Elizaveta was eagerly snapping pictures.

"What?" Elizaveta asked Antonio warily as she finished her picture-taking.

"I meant a white ash stake," Antonio said. "You brought one, right? 'Cause you're planning to exterminate a Vampire!"

"Antonio," Alfred sighed. "I know that you're a you-know-what, but is it possible that—?"

"Oh? Me?" Antonio snarled at Alfred lightly. "Don't insult me, kiddo. Attacking a sleeping person is not a thing that an honest warrior will do! Anyways," he turned a curious green eye at the coffin, "let's open this thing."

"Oh, but—" Elizaveta was about to protest, when Antonio suddenly bristled and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Sh!" the half-Werewolf hissed. "We're surrounded!"

They all went to one of the large windows, and saw shadowy figures carrying torches. Alfred could see their fangs gleaming in the torchlight.  
>"It's not just a matter of ten or twenty Vampires," Antonio said in a low voice. "This is practically a swarm of lower-class Vampires!" He smirked. "Care to explain, eh, Arthur Kirkland?"<p>

With an unpleasant shock, Alfred and Elizaveta turned to see Arthur Kirkland standing behind them, still in his school uniform, his hands tucked in his pockets.

"Explain, you say?" Arthur finally hissed, green eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Isn't this all your fault, Antonio Carriedo?" He stepped nearer and fixed Elizaveta with an amused look. "I just came from my nightly hunt… And I presumed that you led the dog here, didn't you, you bad girl…?" He approached Elizaveta with a growing smirk, his eyes aglow with Vampiric beauty. "You need to be punished—!"

Elizaveta let out a terrified squeak, and fainted. Alfred hurried over to her side, worried.

"I just knocked her out," Arthur said lightly. "The situation is much too dangerous for an ordinary mortal. And pray, if we don't do something about this, you might get caught in my troubles and die." Making a snap decision, he grabbed the coffin with inhuman strength and leaped out through the window. The crowd outside became excited when they saw Arthur and started to throw the torches in the church, setting it ablaze.

However, Arthur was quick and ran like the wind through the mob and to the edge of the wood that surrounded the church, and the Vampires snarled as one and ran in pursuit, ignoring Antonio and Alfred (carrying the unconscious Elizaveta in his arms), who were just getting out of the burning building. Antonio frowned.

"I don't understand… So their target is Arthur Kirkland?"

Arthur set the coffin on the grass and turned to face the onrushing mob. "You didn't understand what I said, Antonio, did you?" he said loudly, locking eyes with Antonio through the crowd. "I was exiled from the Vampire society." He smiled, his fangs jutting out from underneath his lip. "And it's all because of you."

The Vampires approached warily, and Arthur opened the coffin with a flourish.

"I thought this might happen, you know," he remarked, and revealed numerous stakes inside made of white ash wood. He transfixed one each between the fingers of each hand, and hissed. "I shall show you the difference between pureblooded Vampires and lower-class ones!"

Up above, perched on the roof of the burning church, Francis Bonnefoy gazed down, his blue eyes showing immense indecision.

* * *

><p>Herakles and Sadık stared each other down while Michelle stood nervously between them. Xiao Chun counted up to ten before irritably raining down on the androids' parade.<p>

"Okay, cut it off already!" he said impatiently, slamming his hand on the table for emphasis. "Michelle, it's impossible to restore your arm back to normal. But we've prepared an attachment for it. It'll be a good chance to test it."

Michelle curtseyed to Xiao Chun. "I thank you, Xiao Chun-sama."

"You still want to rescue my nee-sama, Sheru-chan," Kiku said musingly. "Correct?"

"Oui," the android said with a bow.

Kiku smiled. "I see. I respect Kim-nee-sama greatly, and I would gladly see the end to all these matters."

Just then, Kiku heard a squeaking by his open window, and he turned his head curiously to watch the bat anxiously flapping outside by the glass.

* * *

><p>The battle was vicious and deadly—Arthur always aimed for the heart of each Vampire, and the stakes always find their mark. The yard was already one big stretch of blood when one Vampire successfully grabbed Arthur by the shoulder and pounced upon him, but with a snarl and a hiss, Arthur slipped and stabbed the Vampire. It let out a vicious howl of pain that made Alfred break out in shivers.<p>

"The bloody party…" Arthur said softly, "is just beginning!"

Alfred nudged Antonio anxiously. "Shouldn't we help Artie? It looks as if he's having a hard time of it…"

"Tch!" Antonio spat. "Me? Help a Vampire? They killed too much of my brethren!"

"But Artie's not one of those Vampires, right?"

"You can't trust Vampires!" Antonio snapped angrily. "Who cares if he did or didn't kill my familia?"

Alfred watched with narrowed eyes as a Vampire successfully stabbed Arthur in his side with a pitchfork. Arthur's bright green eyes widened with shock when blood trickled down his chin.

"Bastard—!" he uttered with an enraged look.

Alfred couldn't help but run forward to Arthur's help, making Antonio gape with surprise.

"Where are you going?"

"Antonio!" Alfred said determinedly, turning back and meeting Antonio's green eye with blue ones. "Artie and you both saved me from that Vampire last time. I owe you both my life!" He turned away and sucked a breath. "I can't watch anymore. I'm going!"

* * *

><p>Arthur was fighting hard, but three large waves of Vampires later, he had to admit that he was out of his element. They were just too many.<p>

"Oh, bloody hell," he muttered with a pained gasp as two white ash stakes came flying out from nowhere and buried themselves in his back. "Almost got my heart, git!"

However, a Vampire flung itself at Arthur as he turned his back, and Arthur froze as he felt—

"Mine!" Antonio's paw smacked the Vampire away from Arthur, and he roared, "Get your skinny butt outta here, Kirkland!"

Arthur was smiling lightly at Antonio. "What are you doing?"

Antonio turned his back to Arthur and to the oncoming rush of enemies. "Even if they are low-class," he snarled grudgingly, "all Vampires are my enemies!"

Arthur laughed and said "Oh?", but his eyes were grateful.

Alfred strolled to Arthur's side, his sunny grin making Arthur's lips quirk. "I may be a burden most of the time, but don't forget"—a Vampire successfully sliced at his skin with a knife, and Arthur's eyes narrowed—"that I'm still a Blood warrior!"

The wound closed up and immediately began healing. Arthur chuckled with amusement at Alfred.

* * *

><p>Arthur, Alfred, and Antonio slowly backed onto each other as the never-ending stream of Vampires gathered slowly around them. Arthur scoffed.<p>

"You may act like the hero, Alfred," he said with a scowl, "but didn't you realize that you might never get out of here alive?"

"Well, it did cross my mind," Alfred grinned. "But this is my choice, and it's too late to back out now anyways!"

"Stupid gits," Arthur said with a lazy grin.

Their mini-conference was rudely interrupted, however, when a huge oak tree came flying out of nowhere and flattened a goodly number of Vampires. Alfred looked up with hope, and was not disappointed: Herakles was standing before Kiku a little distance off, his arms still posed as if to throw.

Meanwhile, Sadık was flinging every Vampire that had the misfortune to face him, making them fly away to long distances.

"Make way for the Royal brats, Vampires," he was muttering in a snide voice.

"Shut up, Sadık," Xiao Chun snapped at his android. "Frankly, I had never dreamed of a day wherein I'll have to save the skin of a filthy bloodsucker."

Meanwhile, Michelle was testing her new weapon: A sub-machine gun was fitted on her left arm, and she let it spit out bullets and rip countless Vampires into shreds.

Kiku surveyed the destruction, a dark eyebrow raised. "With this, Arthur, we're finally even."

On the top of the brightly burning church, Francis chuckled lightly. "Oh honhonhon~ Arthur, I did not think that you are very popular…"

He turned and walked away, but not without swearing, "You will find that I am a terrible enemy, Duke Beilschmidt… So please don't try my patience…"

Kiku turned his head at Francis's retreating figure, a curious expression on his face.

* * *

><p>Elizaveta grudgingly looked at her album of Arthur's snapshots, tugging at her wavy hair irritably as she walked to school. "When I came to, I had been left in front of my house," she griped. "That vampire might have done something to me while I was out or something…"<p>

Just then, someone suddenly snatched the album from her hands, and Elizaveta looked up with horror to see Arthur Kirkland himself smiling at her.

"Who's doing what?" he asked in an innocent tone, and flipped through the pages of the album. "How interesting! These are all my pictures!" With a chuckle, he walked past Elizaveta with the album, and patted her on the head.

Elizaveta blinked for a few moments, her eyes sliding out of focus. "What happened?" she asked in a dreamy voice. "Oh, I must go to school already…"

Meanwhile, Alfred was surprised when Arthur suddenly gave him the photo album.

"Take it to Kiku-sama," he said as he walked away from the puzzled Alfred. "I think he might find it interesting…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Antonio was raising havoc in the house when he saw Herakles carting a familiar black coffin in the house.<p>

"Fuck, not here—!"

"Calm down, Antonio."

"But señorito—!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay! Arthur Kirkland finally joins Team Kiku!:3**

**Strangely, this chapter rook me a ridiculously long time to write…**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku finds himself trapped underground as a biological scientist named Feliks tries to talk him into buying a unique kind of merchandise—that is, a merchandise that eats human flesh! Meanwhile, while searching for Kiku, Alfred is reminded again that his relationship with Kiku is far deeper than any contract. Will Alfred successfully find Kiku before feeding time comes? Come one, come all—this chapter is what you'd call a Resident Evil 4 moment. And come on, AmeriPan fluff. (evil grin)


	14. Underground

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>After a month of being hypnotized by Arthur, Elizaveta Héderváry, she of the photography club, FINALLY found out the truth about Arthur's nature and decided to investigate further. Meanwhile, Gilbert Beilschmidt made true on his promise and sent Vampires to attack Arthur, who was banished from Vampire society. Fortunately, Antonio and Alfred helped. And of course, everyone arrived and saved our cynical British Vampire. Yaaaaay.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, scientist!Poland, and nasty bugs. You've been warned, people.

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku finds himself trapped underground as a biological scientist named Feliks tries to talk him into buying a unique kind of merchandise—that is, a merchandise that eats human flesh! Meanwhile, while searching for Kiku, Alfred is reminded again that his relationship with Kiku is far deeper than any contract. Will Alfred successfully find Kiku before feeding time comes?

**Disclaimer**: I will never, ever own APH, guys and gals! All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fourteenth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Underground<em>

* * *

><p>"A drop of Blood… is a drop of life."<p>

Drops of vivid red Blood trailed down Kiku's slender fingers, and threatened to drip from the tips. Alfred, kneeling on one knee before his master, watched the glowing Blood as it was held tantalizingly in front of him.

"You may drink."

Alfred took Kiku's pale hand and applied his lips to the soft skin, his tongue snaking out to taste Kiku's Blood.

Kiku's Blood tasted as delicious as ever—drinking his Blood was like eating succulent food and drinking rich wine, all the while having comfortable clothes around you that warm you to the tips of your toes.

Alfred had to admit, his drinking of Kiku's Blood was like a private moment that only the two of them can bear witness to.

* * *

><p>Kiku slowly opened his dark eyes, and strangely felt stiff all over. Wondering what the hell happened, he looked around and saw that he was in a moderately large cavern, and upon moving, he found out that he was bound tight by a strange, cocoon-like substance that stuck him right on the wall like a helpless fly.<p>

Feeling highly amused by the situation, he looked around once more and saw Arthur's coffin bound shut with the same substance. No doubt the Vampire was still inside. Matthew was there too, his glasses askew as he slept peacefully, unaware of the immediate danger that he was in. There were two other people similarly bound in the room, but Kiku didn't recognize them.

Kiku was at least relieved that Alfred, Antonio, and Herakles were not in the cavern too, but he wasn't sure if they were locked up in another room of the same sort. But before he could expound further upon his thoughts, a crackling of static can be heard, and a voice said, undoubtedly from the speaker up on the ceiling:

"_So, are you, like, awake now?_"

Kiku frowned. He faintly recognized the voice, and he was sure that he had no pleasant connotations to be had with that person.

"_It's, like, a pity to not see your pretty face, like, personally_," the voice continued. "_It's a pity that you have, like, that expression on your face that looked as if you, like, wanna die when you heard my, like, totally bitchin' voice, but…_" The voice suddenly sank into a whisper. "…_I have a nice proposition for you, like, totally_!"

Kiku absolutely looked as if he would have crossed his arms and smiled sarcastically at the speaker if he just could. "Really, Feliks?"

* * *

><p>"I'm home!"<p>

Alfred had opened the front door wide and slipped off his black school shoes when he noticed something.

The inside of the house looked as if it had been attacked by mini-bombs. The floor was littered with large holes, and Alfred noticed that the house was eerily silent. No Matthew rushed to the hall to greet him back, no Antonio to suddenly bound into the room and ask him about his day, no Herakles to go from his gardening and look at him blankly, and most importantly, no Kiku to go down the stairs and smile sarcastically at him with a sweetly mocking "Good afternoon, Alfred."

"Kiku? Matt?" Alfred went around and looked into all the rooms on the ground floor of the house. "Antonio? Herakles?"

"Here…" a faint voice sounded from a hole that Alfred just passed.

Alfred went to the hole and peered in rather cautiously. It was about six feet deep, and on the bottom was Herakles, who was buried up to his waist in the rock and looking up into Alfred's face with his usual sleepy expression.

"Where's everybody?" Alfred said loudly, panic making his voice rise.

Herakles merely pointed in front of him. Puzzled, Alfred leapt into the hole beside the android and looked into the direction that Herakles pointed at. It was a dug tunnel, winding through the ground.

"So everybody's there?" Alfred looked at Herakles, who nodded.

"And I think you're buried in there because of your weight?"

The android nodded again.

"Well, that matter's cleared, at least." Alfred sighed to himself, and borrowing Herakles's flashlight and ax, he started on the tunnel.

* * *

><p>"How long is this tunnel anyways?" Alfred wondered aloud as he walked along. The tunnel seemed to be stretching infinitely, and there were no distinguishing features in the landscape except for the occasional rocks strewn here and there. "Who made this tunnel, and when did they do this?"<p>

Just then, when he stepped forward, the rock suddenly gave way, and the unfortunate Alfred fell through the floor and into another passageway below.

The first feeling that Alfred was aware of was wetness. When he rose from the water where he fell into, he found that he was in some kind of sewer system.

"Antonio?"

He had seen the Spaniard strolling along the walk that bordered the water, and his call made Antonio turn around in surprise.

"Alfredo? What the hell are you doing here?" Antonio's green eyes widened. "Hide! Quick!"

"Huh?" Alfred was about to ask why, when a loud buzzing filled his ears.

Two long pincers grabbed him from behind by the collar of his uniform, and he was lifted high in the air. Alfred had a split-second vision of the earth leaving his feet before Antonio raised his paw and sent the insect smashing into the water, dropping him safely.

"What the fuck was that?" Alfred asked in a whisper.

"Don't know, but they keep on appearing outta nowhere," Antonio said seriously. "Maybe bugs?"

"Something that big?" Alfred asked incredulously. "C'mon, dude."

"Seriously speaking, Alfredo." Antonio helped Alfred up onto his feet. "More importantly, we need to be careful. Even I can't sense their presence." He looked around warily. "Once we get caught, we're probably going to be taken somewhere, just like the señorito and your hermano Mateo."

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh, is that, like, a half-Werewolf<em>?"

The scientist with chin-length blond hair smiled at the screen that showed Antonio and Alfred walking along the sewers.

"_And that teenager… Could he be, like, a Blood warrior_?" biologist Feliks Łukasiewicz wondered as he sat back on a comfortable armchair, surveying the screens in front of him. "_A mere boy like that! What secrets could he have, like, possibly held?_" Feliks smiled widely. "_This is getting totes interesting! What do you think, Kiku-sama?_"

Kiku prudently held his normally sharp tongue.

"_As for the merchandise that I've, like, developed_," Feliks continued, "_you can totally, like, acknowledge it now! But as your, like, subordinate, may I ask you to, like, confirm its quality firsthand_?"

Kiku's expression was kept carefully neutral. "_Merchandise, you say?_"

"_I'm going to totally turn this into a business, you know_," Feliks said, flipping his hair like a schoolgirl. "_Biological warfare is very advantageous if you think about it! Creatures synthesized from, like, various insects are so amazing! And I would so like to sell them to you. They'd be totally useful in reconnaissance missions_!"

Kiku could almost imagine the scientist jumping up and down on his seat. "That's alright," he said clearly, raising his voice. "Besides, your bugs are an army, and that's out of the question."

Feliks was silent for a few moments, and Kiku wondered whether he was angry or shocked or a bit of both.

"_But didn't one of your, like, brothers openly defy that rule_?" the biologist said slowly. "_And when he annihilated your former Blood warriors, didn't he, like, use the most forbidden out of forbidden things_?"

"Fufu." Kiku sneered with a vengeance. "If you are that desperate to earn money, Feliks, wouldn't selling my life to that traitorous brother of mine be more profitable to you? Negotiations will probably be quicker than a blink."

Feliks hissed angrily. "_You forget that I'm a scientist. Maybe I should show you the fruits of my research_!"

A faint buzzing filled the air.

"_Examine them carefully_," the scientist said. "_Feeding time is still two hours away_!"

* * *

><p>"Damn! Another dead end!" Antonio looked as if he was ready to tear his hair out at any moment.<p>

Alfred looked despairingly past the bars of black metal that hindered their path, and sighed.

"Maybe we should go back to that last junction," Antonio suggested. "I—"

"Antonio."

"What?"

Alfred took a deep breath, and decided to finally express his suspicions. "There's probably a loop in here. And they're leading us around the place in circles."

Antonio frowned. "If that's so, I'll just break open these iron grates and we can—"

"Um, related to that, I don't think we have to necessarily do that," Alfred said cautiously, amazed by his brain wave. "I mean, those insects are in here without breaking anything."

"_THEN WHAT SHOULD WE DO?_"

"I don't know either…"

* * *

><p>"<em>If they didn't, like, discover the secret of this place soon, they'll, like, never be able to, like, reach you in time<em>." Feliks chuckled lightly at the microphone, subtly taunting Kiku.

The prince, however, just raised his dark eyes to the camera and smiled angelically. "They're coming."

"_How can you say that, Kiku-sama_?" the biologist said.

"If Alfred F. Jones truly is aware that he is a Blood warrior, he'll find his way in here," Kiku said calmly, his eyes closing as if in a meditative manner. "Then I can go back home and drink some of Matthew-san's black tea."

* * *

><p>A bug suddenly snatched Antonio from behind and carried him off into the air, but Alfred took heart and threw Herakles's ax at it, at which accurate shot tore it into two halves. Antonio picked himself up from the water and shook all over like a (ironically) wet dog.<p>

"Where did that critter come from?" he gasped.

Alfred just shrugged, and ran over to Antonio. "Okay, dude?"

Antonio nodded absently, then his eyes widened as he saw—

"Alfredo!"

Alfred felt two sharp knifelike things stab him deeply in the back, blood spluttering out as they went cleanly through him. He knew that it was one of those infernal bugs.  
>Antonio had gathered his wits and had delivered a smashing roundhouse kick to the bug's head, making it draw out its pincers immediately out of Alfred and making the Blood warrior hiss in pain.<p>

Before the gigantic insect could even react from the smashing kick, Alfred picked up the dropped ax and aimed for the head, tearing it off with a totally grossing-out kind of sound.

"I now know what it is," Antonio said seriously as the headless body of the giant bug dropped in the water. "They use camouflage. I didn't see it until about a moment before finally pouncing on you."

* * *

><p>"<em>And that is, like, the first amazing feature of my merchandise<em>!" Feliks was saying enthusiastically like an overeager salesgirl. "_And there's another one, but I'm not telling it to you just yet_!"

"The first feature is camouflage, then?" Kiku said with a mocking smile. "I wonder what the second is…!"

* * *

><p>"DAMMIT!"<p>

Antonio punched the wall, detached bricks flying everywhere at the brute strength. Alfred flinched when Antonio looked at him with dark green eyes.

"This is hopeless, Alfredo!" Antonio snarled. "Tell me, how many days had passed since you last drank of the señorito's Blood?"

"Three days," Alfred said hesitantly, instantly knowing what Antonio was driving at.

"Then that means that you have roughly two days left," Antonio said with a heavy sigh. "We have to think of time as a factor now!"

Alfred stared at Antonio with a wary look.

"We must think of the worst case scenario—that is, the possibility that we may not be able to save the señorito." Antonio shook his head wearily. "It's possible that he wasn't even here at all in the first place!"

* * *

><p>"Alfred, do you swear to place your life in my hands, to use in any way if needed?"<p>

"…Yes."

Kiku smiled lightly and held out his hand, dripping with glowing red Blood.

"Do you promise to protect me as the Blood warrior of Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum, and to never desert me in times of difficulty?"

"Yes."

"…Alfred," Kiku's eyes were as soft as liquid darkness. "Should circumstances require it, will you swear by your half-immortality to let me kill you by my own hands rather than risk falling to enemy hands?"

Alfred scowled lightly and lowered his head in thought. Then he looked back up into Kiku's eyes.

"Yes. I give you my life."

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh, my! Have they, like, already given up<em>?" Feliks giggled with glee. "_Only ten minutes until feeding time, Kiku-sama! Have you, like, decided to buy my merchandise already_?"

Kiku feigned a look of bored surprise. "Buy? Me?"

The sarcasm wasn't lost on the scientist. "_But inside you must be, like, realizing the excellence of my insects! They, like, so rock_!"

Kiku rolled his eyes impatiently. "Excellence? Don't make me laugh. No member of the Royalty would buy such defective merchandise."

Feliks snorted into laughter. "_Still? Then I shall tell you the second feature_—"

"There is no need," Kiku interrupted with a haughty air. "You said that there's ten minutes left, right?" The silence was profound on the other side, so Kiku smirked and plowed on. "We'll see when the time comes. Although it can be a little bit earlier." He tilted his head slightly. "Why don't you ask your defective creatures to come and, in Arthur Kirkland's colorful speech, have a go at me?"

* * *

><p>"So are you telling me to just give this up?"<p>

Alfred's icy blue eyes were locked with Antonio's.

"I didn't say anything about giving up," Antonio said exasperatedly. "But you have to think of your own situation a little!" He put his right hand on his hip in a matter-of-fact manner. "If it comes to the worst, you could offer yourself up as a Blood warrior to Xiao Chun instead and—"

"But—!"

"No buts!" Antonio snapped.

"But I'm still alive, Antonio!" Alfred burst out, indignation coloring his face. "And Kiku is also still alive!"

* * *

><p><em>Drops of vivid red Blood trailed down Kiku's slender fingers, and threatened to drip from the tips. Alfred, kneeling on one knee before his master, watched the glowing Blood as it was held tantalizingly in front of him. <em>

"_You may drink_."

* * *

><p>Antonio froze as he saw the enraged blue of Alfred's eyes slowly turn into violet and then a vivid red, and his constricted round pupils turn into slits. The Blood warrior trembled as he felt the steady reassuring hum of Kiku's Blood singing out to him from somewhere.<p>

"I know where he is."

Antonio snapped out into it as Alfred suddenly turned tail and ran, splashing water everywhere.

"Wait!"

* * *

><p>Alfred stopped at a certain portion of the wall and swung his ax hard at it. Antonio expected the blade to rebound, but it stuck fast to the bricks and blood spurted out of the crack it made. In amazement, Antonio watched as an insect suddenly appeared out of nowhere, pinned to the wall and its head cleaved in two by the ax. When it fell backward, it revealed a secret passageway into another chamber.<p>

"Amazing," Antonio gasped.

Alfred silently walked inside into the adjoining cavern, his eyes returning into their original blue color.

Kiku looked up as he heard the crash of the insect's body on the floor, and the dark eyes met with the blue.

"You're late, Alfred," Kiku said with a sigh. "But at least you came."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, merely bored out of my wits," Kiku said with an involuntary shudder as Alfred released him from his bondage. Kiku stretched his arms out with a grimace and watched Alfred as the latter cut Matthew free. "And Feliks? That second mystery feature… I think…" He grabbed Alfred's ax out of the latter's hands, to his surprise, and suddenly brought it down on the head of one of the unrecognizable people in the room, a young girl, which earned a shocked gasp from both Alfred and Antonio.

What astonished them more, however, was the fact that the young girl immediately morphed into one of the giant insect creatures after being killed in its sleep.

"Mimicry," Kiku said with a stifled yawn. "Or in other words, metamorphic abilities." He looked up at the camera's lens. "Wasn't the buzzing annoying, Feliks?"

"But aren't you, like, at the disadvantage in this instance?" Feliks answered snidely after evidently recovering from his shock. "Look…!"

The darkest corners of the cavern lit up with a thousand pairs of glowing red eyes. Alfred looked around and decided to appreciate the danger of the situation.

"Feeding time!" the voice boomed over the speakers, and Antonio shivered as he began cutting the coffin free from its bounds.

"Alfred," Kiku called the Blood warrior, thrusting the ax in his hands. "Here is your ax."

"But what about—?" Alfred started to say, but Kiku held his index finger up, and Alfred stopped speaking as if he was struck dumb.

"Fufu. I shall command as your master." Kiku crossed his arms and smiled enticingly at Alfred. "Protect me, Blood warrior!"

Alfred's eyes rounded out at this show of faith, and without even noticing, his eyes had changed color again from blue to red.

Antonio, meanwhile, had wrenched the lid of the coffin rather rudely and pulled Arthur out from his comfortable sleep. The Vampire began yawning and rubbing his eyes sleepily.  
>"Who the blazes is waking me up at this time of day…" he muttered grudgingly, vibrant green eyes half-closed.<p>

"What an easygoing person," Antonio sighed, shaking his head with annoyance.

Alfred noticed someone else clambering in the cavern along to them, and he turned to see Herakles, who had finally succeeded in struggling out of his predicament earlier and was carrying another ax and a pistol. He casually flung the gun at the prince, who caught it easily as if he was used to having heavy things thrown at him.

"You came too, Hera-chan," Kiku smiled sweetly at the android. "Now we correct this little problem!"

And without another word, he started forward with the gun.

The battle was furious and chaotic—Alfred had to lop off a dozen of the creatures' heads before he could clear his line of sight, and even then another dozen of the bugs were upon him next. Kiku was mostly passive, blowing the insects' heads off without a flinch of any kind. Meanwhile, Antonio and Arthur were striking with just their brute strength, and Herakles was aiming rather recklessly at the insects' stomachs. Alfred had to admit, insect guts aren't exactly his most favorite thing to feel smacking on his face, but whatever. Herakles didn't seem to care either which way.

* * *

><p>"—And that's what happened." Matthew sighed as he poured Kiku some more tea. "When I woke up,I had been asleep in bed. There were those holes on the floor too. Maybe we have termites here after all…"<p>

Kiku looked up from his tea and fixed his eyes on Matthew's goodnatured face in a long, clear gaze.

"Fufu," the prince finally said, and he placed the cup of black tea on the table. "The tea you make is delicious as always, Matthew-san."

The blond beamed at Kiku's compliment. "Thank you, Kiku-sama."

* * *

><p>The short, slender boy, wearing a pure white kimono with golden chrysanthemums embroidered at the hem, watched the scenery of the ravine far below him as he brushed back his troublesome bangs away from his face. However, the wind persisted in playing with his dark hair.<p>

"The wheels are set in motion," he whispered to himself, gentle dark eyes smoldering on his pale face. "If Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum makes even one mistake against Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon… I'm afraid it'll be the end for the master and the Blood warrior alike…"

He sighed and bit the skin of his right index finger, dull red blood running out and dripping on the trousers of his kimono, staining the white and gold with red.

"Be strong, Alfred-kun," he said with a smile, holding out his bitten hand in the freezing air. "And we might just meet in the future… Maybe…?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: How do you like that? New loose threads to pick up!**

**Poor Matt. I made him out to be quite the oblivious one, which was really the opposite. **

**Any chance of more reviewers out there? Raise up the morale of this poor onee-chan who toils at her school work all week!**

**Also I'm planning a USUK story for the future—GOSICK-centric. OK with you all? Here's its tentative summary:**

_"'The year is 1939. On the base of a certain mountain in the land of tea and scones, battle-scarred England, stands the prestigious St. George of Lydda Academy, the only English school that still opened its doors to international students from Allied countries after the conclusion of the Great War and even while World War II was beginning to break out.' _

_"Alfred F. Jones, the second son of a high ranking officer of the American army, is one of its very few transfer students, making him a novelty in a school where urban legends and horror stories are all the rage. There he meets Arthur Kirkland, a mysterious yet brilliant English teenager who never comes to class and instead spends his days reading all the books in the library or else solving the most complex of puzzles. _

_"As war threatens to break out again in the form of World War II, Alfred must come to terms with his obligation to go back to the aid of his motherland America, his growing feelings for the cynical Arthur, and also his desire to save Arthur from a horrible destiny that, if fulfilled, will surely change the history of England… and of the whole world."_

**[Bloody kick-ass, innit? Gotta be awesome! If the idea ever pans out, it'll be my first USUK!] You could include in your review if you want it to be started on already, since I'm just dangling my pen in front of my computer and doing nothing lately… Okay, guys? I'm outta here!**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: The beginning of the First Blood arc. Feliks visits Kiku to make amends about his behavior, and as appeasement, discloses valuable information: A member of the Royalty's hideout! Kiku and his team go there to investigate the authenticity of the scientist's information and to grab the chance for first Blood, but a new enemy in the shape of Eun Soo of the White Magnolia appears, and her involvement might be deadly for Antonio and Arthur…


	15. Night of the Chrysanthemum

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Kiku found himself trapped underground as a biological scientist named Feliks tried to talk him into buying a unique kind of merchandise—that is, a merchandise that eats human flesh! Alfred was also reminded again that his relationship with Kiku is far deeper than any contract.<p>

Meanwhile, a character that will certainly change the flow of Kiku's future appears—but a question remains: is he friend… or foe? We just might never know…

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, and… **something is strange with Eun Soo**…

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genres**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: The beginning of the First Blood arc. Feliks visits Kiku to make amends about his behavior, and as appeasement, discloses valuable information: A member of the Royalty's hideout! Kiku and his team go there to investigate the authenticity of the scientist's information and to grab the chance for first Blood, but a new enemy in the shape of Eun Soo of the White Magnolia appears, and her involvement might be deadly for Antonio and Arthur…

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fifteenth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Night of the Chrysanthemum<em>

* * *

><p>"So you are, like, Herakles Karpusi!"<p>

Herakles, who was busy fondling his cats after a hard day's work in fixing the front door of Kiku's house (Antonio had broken it again while quarreling with Arthur), was startled by the sudden greeting, and when he saw that the speaker was none other than Feliks Łukasiewicz, he immediately stood up and scowled lightly, which Kiku would have known as Herakles's expression when he was angered.

Feliks, who was quite aware of Herakles's expressionlessness and the implications that his present scowl carried, kept his distance. "You are, like, the so-called crystallization of the Kingdom's science. Programmed in Greek, proficient in all of the languages and dialects imaginable in several universes, has infinite strength, and, like, limitless intelligence… Maybe your only defect is your, like, speech patterns, but that's why we made Sadık next!" Herakles did not look too pleased with this statement, so Feliks immediately changed tack at the speed of light. "Oh, no, you're not a failure! What I meant was that—"

Snick!

A sword had suddenly come down on the side of Feliks's head, neatly snipping the tips of his blond hair and making the biologist yelp and leap away from the dangerous swinging blade. Looking around angrily, he saw that the holder of the sword was Kiku, who looked rather paler and dangerously sweeter than usual as he drew back the katana and ran his tongue across the flat of the blade in a playful gesture.

"You have quite the gall to appear in my own yard like this, Feliks-san," he said in a low voice as he fluidly reached out and placed the point of the sword under Feliks's chin and tilted it upward. "Why are you here?"

"I have valuable information that will, I hope, clear all of my, like, rude actions so far," the scientist eagerly said. "Will you hear it, Your Highness?"

* * *

><p>"Speak, Feliks-san."<p>

Feliks glanced curiously at Matthew, who had come with the tea tray and was now pouring some white tea into porcelain cups. The instant that Matt had excused himself and went out, however, Feliks immediately leaned forward and said with a dramatic voice, "I know where the house of Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon can be found, Kiku-sama."

Kiku, who was calmly sipping at the pale yellow tea, instantly looked up, his eyes wide and incredulous before they settled back into pools of indifference. Feliks smiled at the effect his words had made upon the prince, and pushed on.

"Of course, you are an intelligent war strategist yourself, Kiku-sama," the scientist crooned, triumph glittering dryly in his eyes. "You must have realized that I am giving you an opportunity to draw first Blood!"

Kiku recovered from his initial speechlessness and stood up, cup in one hand. "Please take some of this Bai Hao Yinzhen tea, Feliks-san, while I think upon your information. The tea leaves alone cost me dearly, so it would be folly not to taste it."

* * *

><p>"It's obviously a trap, señorito!" Antonio angrily slammed his fist on the wall, making all of the furniture rattle. Kiku watched with narrowed eyes as the painted bamboo scroll hanging on the wall fell with a clatter on the tatami mats. "Did you forget already what this guy did to you? There's no reason for us to listen to his lies! He should be punished with death!"<p>

"You'll kill the, like, defenseless me, Werewolf?" Feliks said smugly. "Is that the way of a true warrior?"

Kiku, who had again resumed drinking his tea, quirked an irritated eyebrow as he heard Antonio curse loudly in Spanish.

"All right, then!" Antonio said loudly, turning to look triumphantly at Feliks. "We'll have you executed! Your crime is attempted murder on a member of the Royalty!"

"Kiku-sama, will you please, like, do something to shut this half-Werewolf—"

Arthur, who was standing on the side and quietly watching Kiku as the prince stood by the open window, sighed and noticed a bat anxiously flapping outside, its shadow etched upon the thin shoji.

"Finally," he exclaimed, pulling the shoji aside and letting the bat fly in and settle upside-down on his arm. "I've got the confirmation, Kiku-sama. This bloke's story is true, I guess…"

"You see?" Feliks squeaked anxiously, since Antonio had grabbed him unceremoniously by the front of his lab coat. "It's true!"

"WELL, THAT MEANS THAT YOU ARE JUST LURING US TO A FIGHT, MANGY—"

"Let him go, Antonio-san," Kiku said with a kind of forced patience.

When Feliks had finally regained his freedom from Antonio's clutches, he shot back to the Werewolf, "If you don't want to fight, you are, like, totally free to run, so—"

"Run? Me? Are you suggesting— All right, I'll go and show you—!"

Arthur smiled widely at Kiku, showing off his perfect teeth. "Such a cheeky dago, this one is…"

The prince coughed once and looked at Arthur pointedly. "For the umpteenth time, Arthur-san, I would request you to kindly take your eyes off my throat. It makes me twice as paranoid."

Alfred, who was uncharacteristically silent, glared at Arthur from his position beside the door. Arthur laughed slyly at the sight. "I do think that you've taken an increasingly jealous prat into a Blood contract, Kiku-sama."

Kiku smirked as he locked eyes with Alfred. "Blood warriors are not Blood warriors if they aren't jealously watchful of their masters' movements, Arthur-san."

"I suppose," Arthur sighed with a strange kind of disappointment.

"Anyway, that matter aside, Feliks-san," Kiku said, raising his voice to make the pair pause and look at him. "I do think that it is unthinkable for a Royal child, who is yet to become an adult, to bare him- or herself out to the mercy of his or her siblings. An ambush, therefore, can be ineffective for this matter. I think it will be better for us to keep our distance from the opponent and wait for an opening."

"Hey, Kiku…"

Alfred had pushed himself away from the wall that he was leaning on before and was walking toward Kiku, his eyes carefully averted. "What will you do? Since we only know where the opponent is, what will you do? Will you… send… an assassin? Like how it was always done to us?"

Like a flash, Arthur was suddenly beside Alfred and had flung his arm around the taller teenager's shoulders in a slightly intimidating gesture, his smile undiminished. "Alfred, Alfred, Alfred," he said in a rather singsong tone. "You think too much! Instead of thinking that this is Kiku Honda's first time to send in an assassin, won't it be more natural to think that he has done this countless of times before…?"

Alfred raised wide blue eyes to Kiku's stoic brown ones. "Kiku… Is that so?"

Kiku merely stared back at him, his lips in a slight downturn.

* * *

><p>"We are now in B— city," Herakles recited mechanically as he drove the truck into a brightly-lit city, the street lights illuminating the otherwise isolated road. Kiku and Alfred were beside him on the wide front seat. It was already late at night, the trip having taken about four hours.<p>

"A small, insignificant city in the midst of a mountain range," Kiku said with a relaxed smile as he reclined on the seat, his eyes closing drowsily. Alfred found himself watching amusedly as he recounted the seven times during the journey that Kiku's head had drooped before righting himself with a start. "Not the most popular choice for a member of the Royalty, but I suppose he wants to tone things down a bit."

"It's only nine o'clock," Alfred remarked with a grin, referring to the prince's sleepy eyes. Kiku opened his eyes halfway and looked at him.

"Fufu," the prince chuckled, and crossed his arms comfortably. "I'm not nocturnal like Antonio-san and Arthur-san, and that factor must make me a poor Ruler if I am fortunate enough to grab the Crown, since most of my subjects must be nocturnal themselves."

Only three months ago, Alfred must've been creeped out by that statement, but since he was already resigned to the fact that Kiku wasn't indeed an ordinary mortal, he just sighed.

"Kiku, I've been thinking about asking you this, but had never really gotten the chance," he said slowly, making the other glancing at him with a puzzled look. "But… if you're not mortal, what kind of creature are you?"

Kiku glanced sideways at Alfred and smiled lightly. "Maybe if you help me live long enough, you'll know what kind of creature I really am."

Alfred smiled back. "Well…"

"By the way, I've noticed that the streets seem to be a little too deserted for nine o'clock," Kiku commented with a thoughtful face, looking around.

"Maybe that's what seemed off." Alfred watched the shops and houses fly past as Herakles flawlessly maintained the truck's speed. "It's too silent…"

"And aren't we answering your question now?" Kiku said, looking straight ahead as the truck finally lurched into a stop beside a derelict cluster of factory warehouses.

"Huh?"

"You asked me if I will send an assassin, no?"

"Uh…"

"Well," Kiku stepped down from the truck after Alfred and looked up at the warehouse directly beside the truck. "My answer is… '_It depends on my opponent_.'"

Alfred flushed lightly, but otherwise kept his silence.

Antonio and Arthur had also leapt down from the back of the truck. Antonio looked as if he was already braced for a fight, while Arthur looked as if he was still uncertain about the sequence of events.

"A warehouse?" Antonio sighed.

"More and more unfitting for a member of the Royalty," Arthur smiled.

Kiku had already stepped forward as if to proceed inside the building, but Antonio quickly grabbed his sleeve and snapped, "Wait, señorito."

Kiku turned to look at him. "What?"

"Wait here with Herakles, okay? Kirkland, Alfredo and I will be the only ones to go inside."

Arthur sighed loudly. "Eh? I'm going inside with a bloody-minded nutter like you? Fat chance…"

"You're a freeloader too, so get to work!" Antonio snarled. Then, turning to Kiku again, he said in a more serious tone, "But before that, what I don't understand was the fact that you're here with us. Don't members of the Royalty usually remain in their hideouts and send assassins to each other from a safe place? Isn't that the norm?"

Kiku glanced up at the Werewolf's dark green eyes and smiled calmly. "Well, it doesn't mean that I have to follow every rule stated in the book. I'm not necessarily committing an offense by bringing myself to an enemy's territory."

Antonio sighed, and finally let go of Kiku's arm, since Alfred was looking particularly murderous. "All right. If we're not back by thirty minutes' time…" He turned his back to Kiku and began proceeding towards the warehouse entrance. "…Assume that we're already dead!"

Kiku didn't answer, but merely watched Antonio's turned back.

"Someone from the Royalty owes me my Lovi's life," the Werewolf continued, eyes narrowed. "I have prepared myself for this!"

Kiku crossed his arms and laughed softly. "Fufu… Then, by all means, Antonio of the Carriedo clan… Go."

* * *

><p>The camera that replaced the android's right eye zoomed in to Kiku, taking in every detail of the prince's delicate face before zooming out again.<p>

"Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum, spotted, sir," he said with a rather pronounced mechanical tone as he wheeled around to face his master, who was standing a little distance from him.

Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon smiled. "Really? Hah! Then phase two of the plan is ready to deploy! Eun Soo, take the Werewolf and the Vampire down, da ze~!"

"Yes, nii-sama," Eun Soo of the White Magnolia said, an ominously blank expression on her beautiful face.

"And Eirikur," Yong Soo added as Eun Soo disappeared into the night. "Let's bring out my, _ahem_, welcoming present for my dear nii-sama, shall we?"

The android nodded stoically, his silver hair buffeted by the rising wind. "Yes, Ojou-sama."

* * *

><p>Antonio, Arthur and Alfred walked around the warehouse, but the consistent lack of something to punch a hole through was starting to irritate Antonio.<p>

"That scientist…! Giving us fake information!" he griped, leading the other two back to the main body of the warehouse after exploring every nook and cranny of the building. "There's no one here! And YOUR BATS!" he added angrily, pointing at Arthur. "Corroborating with the _bastardo_!"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'm not about to start arguing with you, you Were-_bloody_-wolf."

Antonio was about to argue back when Alfred was suddenly thrown to the wall by something so fast that even their eyes didn't catch it.

"Alfredo!" Antonio called, but there was no response from Alfred's position.

"Knocked out cold," Arthur said with a laugh. "Well, it'll make things a bit easier. Let's stop arguing. I think the enemy's already decided to start the bleeding party."

They saw someone in front of them—a pale, beautiful girl with long, wavy dark hair. She looked no older than fifteen. Her beautiful eyes were blazing red, and her pupils are slits. She held a long poleax in one hand, and she wore a white hanbok with a black skirt. On the hem of her skirt were embroidered white magnolias.

"Blood warrior!" Antonio realized, noticing the color and appearance of her eyes. "So there is a Royalty near here!"

"Unless she has already been thrown away by her master," Arthur said with a wry laugh.

The girl tilted her head and raised her free arm. To Antonio's surprise, her pale, thin arm was fitted with a large blade.

"Implants," Arthur commented. "This girl is a biological weapon. Literally."

"I am Eun Soo of the White Magnolia, second daughter of the Royalty," the girl declared monotonously, her voice echoing all around the place. "I am also the Blood warrior of Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon, fourth son of the Royalty.

"And I shall herald your deaths!"

"A member of the Royalty… yet a Blood warrior at the same time?" Antonio gasped, exchanging a look with Arthur. "We're screwed."

"Couldn't have put it better, Gordon Bennett," Arthur said with a straight face.

* * *

><p>"You're an idiot, Kirkland!" Antonio roared as Eun Soo, with inhuman speed and strength, managed to score a deep gash on the Vampire's arm. Arthur leapt back, hissing with rage as the princess's red eyes widened with emotionless bloodlust.<p>

"_Die_, Vampire," she said in a haunting voice.

Antonio grimaced. "And I thought the señorito was the weirdest of the lot. Turns out that there's someone more psycho than him, eh?"

Arthur looked as if he was ready to spit with extreme rage. "Fuck fuck fuck."

Eun Soo moved again. Antonio could tell that she was the ideal Blood warrior—fast, and lethal.

"Señorito could use one like her," he said with a smile as he dodged Eun Soo's heavy yet very quick blows. "Oh fuck—"

Arthur had attempted an ambush from behind while Eun Soo was occupied, but the girl had quickly interposed the poleax between them while she grappled with Antonio. Then began a fast, simultaneous battle of Arthur versus Eun Soo versus Antonio. It was as if the princess knew what went on in each of their minds, making each blow they strike deftly parried at exactly the right time.

At last, Eun Soo had delivered a heavy blow at Antonio's stomach with the blunt end of the poleax, knocking the air out of him and leaving him gasping, and a smashing roundhouse kick to Arthur's neck, the Vampire's light body arcing through the air.

Antonio slowly got up the same time as Arthur, whose vivid green irises were already sporting concentric markings around his round pupils.

"You're a poison snake, you are," Antonio huffed. "Hey, what are her species?"

"She's definitely not pure Royalty anymore," Arthur said, with a very disgusted face. Antonio would have laughed if not for the situation they were in. "Her blood smells too horrible for me to even consider biting her, compared to Kiku-sama's!"

"Ah," Antonio merely said. "So she's not mortal."

"Hmph. It's already given that not an ounce in her is mortal. She's a Blood warrior after all."

"She is once as mortal as, like, any Royal child, before Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon, like, killed her in combat, and made her into a Blood warrior," a voice said suddenly behind them. The Werewolf and the Vampire turned to see the scientist Feliks walking towards them, rubbing his hands together eagerly as he saw Eun Soo. "I just… injected, like, some of my technology into her." His expression was unreadable. "Looks like I can collect some good data tonight…"

* * *

><p>A mysterious stranger was seen walking around the deserted streets of B— City, but his appearance was far from satisfactory—his clothes were tattered and torn, and his aura was one of extreme unkemptness.<p>

"Er, hello—?"

A passerby had seen him, a middle-aged man wearing a blue polo shirt and black slacks. He approached the stranger, and saw that his clothes were destroyed.

"Do you need any help, sir?"

The stranger did not answer him, except to open his mouth and show rows of sharp, jagged teeth, ready to bite the human.

"AAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"

* * *

><p>Arthur gasped as Eun Soo exhibited a long, spiked tail from underneath her skirt. Antonio had taken to attacking her again, but the princess was deadly and swift—he lost to her in terms of raw power alone.<p>

"She's a bloody monster!" Arthur screeched.

Feliks smiled, satisfied. "She has a parasite implanted in her. Born from the sacrifice of several test subjects… She is a masterpiece!"

* * *

><p>Alfred slowly came to, and found himself in a deserted hallway. He could distinctly hear the sounds of battle in the main body of the warehouse, so he immediately stood up.<br>"They left me out again," he sighed, wandering down to where he thought the source of the noise was.

When he passed by a certain room, however, he heard something

Something clanking like chains, and was that _rustling_…?

* * *

><p>"Ah, the same trick?" Arthur said with a laugh as Eun Soo's tail struck again at him. He merely dispersed into bats and while the Blood warrior was distracted by the creatures, Antonio had rushed and slammed his paw against the side of her head. She was knocked out in a blink.<p>

"What now?" Antonio gasped, kneeling beside the girl and glaring at her deceptively innocent face. "If we leave her, she'll just revive again!"

"What shall we do?" Arthur licked his lips. "That is the question, isn't it…"

* * *

><p>"Hello… Kiku?" Alfred said into the phone, positively creeped out by what he just saw. "I found something really weird… it looks like a human, but its presence was somehow… different…" He swallowed hard. "It feels very… uh… uncomfortable, so… Kiku, just what is this?"<p>

When Kiku put down the phone five minutes later, Herakles saw an expression that he knew spoke of something more terrible than Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum's anger. It was… Kiku of the White Chrysanthemum's sorrow.

He spoke only three words.

"This… is war."

* * *

><p>Fires were spreading across B— City… Screams…<p>

"Ahhhg!"

"Mamaaaa!"

"Run… for your lives!"

* * *

><p>"Zombies… are they…"<p>

Herakles didn't have to ask, but he did it any way. Kiku's lips quirked in a bitter smile.

"Ironic…"

* * *

><p>"Let's get out of here, shall we, Eirikur?" Yong Soo watched the fires below as he laughed like a madman, a crazed grin on his face. "Before we are eaten!"<p>

"Ja, we should."

"This town has already turned into hell, Kiku-nii-sama," Yong Soo said with another chuckle. "An inescapable hell!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whoops! **

** "Cliffhanger? What the—!"**

** Maybe that's what you are all saying now? Haha, don't curse me! I'm just doing my job! Anyways, this is a marvelous feat—updating twice in three days! WOW. This is a reward for all you active reviewers and readers! (I've noticed that I've received a lot of hits and visitors from the US, the Philippines, and Chile. Wow. Love ya guys.) Anyways, patriotically speaking, I owe the Filipino and half-Filipino or even quarter-Filipino readers who are reading this so much, teehee. **

** Thanks for the faves and reviews! Wait for the next chapter, because we're nearing the** _first_ **climax!**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: We play Prince Vs. Zombies as Kiku and party must find a way out from the hell that they've found themselves in.

Exciting…:3


	16. Dawn of the Orchid

_**Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?**_  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Feliks visited Kiku to make amends about his behavior, and as appeasement, disclosed valuable information: A member of the Royalty's hideout! Kiku and his team went to investigate the authenticity of the scientist's information and to grab the chance for first Blood, but Eun Soo of the White Magnolia appeared, making the endeavor harder for Antonio and Arthur.<p>

And Kiku discovers the existence of Zombies in the city, making him relive his worst memory all over again as he declares war against the Pale Sharon…

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, and… a whole lot of Zombies. :D

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genres**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: The continuation of the First Blood arc. Kiku and the others must find a way to survive as the Zombies close up all routes of escape. Arthur also gets Xiao Chun of the Purple Orchid to help, but how soon that help will come is all up to the prince…

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sixteenth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Dawn of the Orchid<em>

* * *

><p>"What now?" Antonio snarled, kneeling beside the knocked-out Eun Soo and glaring at her deceptively innocent face. "If we leave her, she'll just revive again!"<p>

"What shall we do?" Arthur licked his lips. "That is the question, isn't it…"

However, Antonio and Arthur were taken aback when Eun Soo suddenly stood up and threw Antonio to the wall.

"Doesn't she revive a little bit too fast?" Antonio gasped as he watched the girl warily. "She's nothing like Alfredo!"

"Well, I think that the difference in Blood was a factor, and also their battle-readiness," Arthur said slowly. "The Royalty are raised to become warriors from childhood. Alfred is just an ordinary human. Their experiences in the battlefield differ greatly."

Eun Soo, however, didn't seem to be interesting in fighting any further, and let go of her weapon with a loud 'clang' of metal against concrete. "Werewolf, carry a message from me to my Kiku-nii-sama."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because it is of utmost importance to his interests. I am directly disobeying my onii-sama's orders by speaking with you like this, and I may be punished by him with eternal death, but tell my Kiku-nii-sama that I am sorry for betraying him, and that he must go before he loses his only Blood warrior again. This I ask of you." To Arthur she said, "You are right. Owing to the difference in Blood, Alfred Jones might find that survival in a place like this is perilous for a Blood warrior that has drunk Kiku-nii-sama's Blood. Yong Soo-nii-sama's Blood, even though it has a low magic concentration compared to Kiku-nii-sama's, provides a faster regeneration. You might want to tell him that too."

And after a few moments of looking beseechingly at Antonio, she turned and walked away, her long wavy hair tousled by the wind.

"Let her go," Arthur murmured, as Antonio made as if to go after her. "We've wasted enough time fighting her as it is…"

* * *

><p>"<em>Dakedo shigoto wa ganbaranakya<em>

_ "Hasami wo katate ni isshoukenmei…_"

Kiku just stood quietly, humming a song and watching the city below with stoic eyes as he leaned upon a tree trunk, his black kimono promptly covered with a dull blue haori as the cold wind picked up steadily. The smoke coming from the city curled to the right, with Kiku's dark eyes following it with no interest whatsoever.

"_Akaku some matta saihou hasami_

_ "Togeba togu hodo yoku kireru…"_

"Kiku!"

"Ah, Alfred," he said without turning to face the Blood warrior.

"Señorito, we had a fight with a member of the Royalty, but she got away," Antonio said with a sigh.

"She? I thought Yong Soo was the only Royalty present here besides me," Kiku said, frowning as he finally turned to look at the three coming up his hill. "I have… three sisters. Which of them?"

"Eun Soo of the White Magnolia," Arthur quickly said, green eyes flickering at Kiku's to see how the prince would react. He saw nothing in the dark orbs except confusion.

"Eun Soo… I never thought I'd encounter her again…" he murmured, a scowl tugging at his brows.

"And there's something strange with her condition right now," Antonio added, earning a glare from Arthur. "She's… a Blood warrior too."

Kiku's head snapped up. "Blood warrior? I wasn't expecting that," he said with an imperceptible hiss at the end of the sentence. "Yong Soo's?"

"Si," the Werewolf answered. "She told me to take a message for you."

When Antonio had told Kiku everything, the prince had broken out into a cheerful laugh.

"That's just like Eun Soo to warn me away from Yong Soo's mischiefs," he said with a sigh, as he settled into a thoughtful face. "We must go back."

"Huh?" Alfred looked puzzled. "But I thought we—"

"The situation has changed for the worse, Alfred. Especially for you. Zombies—"

_BOOM_. The truck behind them suddenly exploded, showering them with bits of metal.

"—are dangerous," Kiku continued calmly, while everyone was cowering around him. The bumper harmlessly soared past him and almost hit Herakles on the head.

Alfred had to admire Kiku's nerves of steel.

"Antonio-san, you say that there's only Eun Soo there?" Kiku asked, crossing his arms against the cold.

"Si," Antonio affirmed.

"Then my suspicions were correct."

"What suspicions?"

"Well, Yong Soo left Eun Soo to buy him time to escape. That means they hadn't foreseen our early interference, if they had indeed planned this all out already. And while you two were occupied with her, they had escaped and had released Zombies into the street to cut off our escape routes."

"Ah, Your Majesty, did you say 'Zombies'?" Arthur Kirkland asked politely.

"I did," Kiku replied with a light nod.

Arthur looked surprised, and then extremely disgusted. "Tch, they're vile creatures and I do not wish to degrade my status as a Vampire by fighting with them. They're—they're abominations of nature! To use them in combat is a taboo in the Kingdom!"

"So it would seem," Kiku said dryly.

"But a member of the Royalty is using them as weapons," Antonio said roughly. "Does that mean that someone is willing to run the risk of being found out and hanged just so that they can kill you?"

Kiku smiled wryly. "If that was Yong Soo's only plan, I will be honored."

"What d'you mean?"

Arthur suddenly bowed himself out. "Kiku-sama, I am very sorry to desert you this suddenly, but I have to excuse myself from engaging in combat those vile… those malignant… those… ugh! Anyways, I'll just pray for you. That is, if God grants the prayers of Vampires."

"Fufu, I do know that Gods are rather resistant of the Kingdom, but maybe they'll grant you something if you'll just persist. Anyways, good evening, Arthur-san."

With another bow and a smile, Arthur dispersed into a hundred bats and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Herakles led the way back into town, sweeping a large tree trunk in his hands left and right to disperse stray Zombies. Kiku walked between Antonio, who had already morphed out his arms, and Alfred, who held a metal pole ready in one hand.<p>

"Antonio-san, might I recommend you to use a weapon also?" Kiku said with an earnest air as they reached the parking lot of a supermarket. "It is extremely dangerous to engage a Zombie in close combat. And Alfred, for about the twentieth time now, stay near me. You're straying away again."

"Oh," Alfred muttered as he inched closer to the group again. As they neared the front entrance of the supermarket, however, Herakles suddenly stopped and dropped the tree trunk, letting it fall with a huge crash.

"Oi, Herakles, what's the matter?" Antonio wondered.

Kiku sighed. "I forgot to tell you. He's almost out of battery when we came here, so I guess it's just natural that his mechanism will stop here."

"EH? Say WHAT!"

* * *

><p>"How many tons does Herakles weigh?" Antonio grumbled as Kiku led them into the deserted supermarket. "Can we bring him here?"<p>

"A definite no." Kiku paused just before the doorway of the entrance, looking around at the half-shut folding iron shutters and the makeshift barricades cluttering the entrance to prevent anyone from coming in. "There's someone here," he added, tilting his head.

"People? Shouldn't we go somewhere else then?" Antonio said doubtfully.

"I can't leave Hera-chan here."

"Oh… that's right…"

"Let's go by the side entrance," Kiku suddenly decided, and they trooped silently towards the smaller side door that led into the supermarket.

There was a desk barricaded in there also, while a dark figure was crouched behind it. Kiku walked up to the desk and began, "We've been forced to stop in here for two or three days. This is a suitable place to raise a siege in. I want you to let us in."

Alfred grimaced at Kiku's very ungracious speech.

_Here he goes again…_

"There's already too many people here," said the person hiding behind the desk.

"Fufu, then we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way," Kiku said in a very mild tone. "Antonio-san, please do the honors."

Well, I think you don't need to know what exactly happened next—let's just say that it resulted into a flying desk and a broken nose for the person hiding behind it. 'Cause it's funny that way.

"Alfred, put the barricade back in place." Kiku walked around the place as Alfred replaced the desk. "Simple furnitures are enough barricades for a Zombie, since it hasn't any intelligence to decipher what they see."

Kiku looked up from his examination of the tiles when he heard someone cock a shotgun in front of him. It was a man with blond hair cut into a bob, and who looked rather suspicious at Kiku's unusual appearance.

"You seem to know quite a bit, young master," he snapped out, the barrel of the gun aligned with Kiku's forehead. Alfred found himself snarling in anger as the man continued aiming his gun at the prince. "Say, won't you mind telling us what are you?"

"How many people are here in total," Kiku asked without any emotion as he walked toward the man with the gun. Instinctively, the man began backing off.

"I'm the one asking the questions here!" the man yelled. "Now answer me!"

"Is there anyone hurt," Kiku continued asking, and stepping forward. "For example, bite marks…"

The man paused, unsure as if to answer the prince.

Kiku smiled sarcastically. "I thought so."

"Er, my name is Basch Zwingli, and that's him." The blond pointed to a trembling man slumped on a corner. Indeed, there was a wound on his bare arm that could have only been made by the Zombies' pointed teeth.

"There is one, de arimasu," Kiku said lightly, his last two words spoken in Japanese to place delicate emphasis on 'is'. "And my name is Kiku Honda. Nice to meet you, Zwingli-san."

Without hesitation, Basch aimed for the head of the wounded man.

"Hey! Why the fuck are you pointing that at me?" the man shouted instantly in a panic. "What did I do?"

"Is he going to be one?" Basch asked Kiku tersely. "I won't let you off so easily if you're wrong!"

"Well, he's going to be a Zombie, without a doubt," Kiku said with an incredulous roll of his eyes. "I think I can give you two minutes before he transforms completely, at the rate that he's going on now…"

Sure enough, as the horrified refugees looked on, the man's eyes rolled back completely in his head, leaving only white, and his teeth and nails sharpened and lengthened into lethal points.

Bang! Bam! Basch Zwingli, without any further hesitation at the sight, had fired two shots into the Zombie's skull, making it slump to the floor with a growl before it finally fell back, dead.

A terrified gasp went up through the building, indicating how much the reign of terror has spread already.

* * *

><p>The night progressed, and Alfred watched the passive form of Herakles as the android still stood there in the parking lot, an electric cable leading from inside his ear to the generator of the supermarket. Since to charge Herakles meant to use up most of the electricity, the supermarket was bathed in absolute darkness, with people huddled in groups to warm up in the coldness of the night.<p>

Alfred wondered if Herakles felt uncomfortable being in the midst of the Zombies who were now wandering toward the supermarket, discarded tree trunk still beside him. Then he decided that maybe it wasn't the wisest question to ask.

"How long will charging Herakles take?" Alfred asked Kiku, who was also watching the android out the corner of his eye.

"Since the voltage here is only for normal residential use, I'd say it'll take about two to three days," Kiku said without hesitation.

"Eh?" Alfred frowned. "That long…"

Kiku seemed to have decided on something, and so he approached Basch. "We are going to stay here in three-days' duration. After three days, we'll be gone. Do we have your permission?"

The blond seemed to have lost his heart after the initial encounter with an infected human, as he just replied with a curt, "Do as you please."

* * *

><p>"Is that true, Vampire?"<p>

"Please, my name is Arthur Kirkland."

Arthur sat in Xiao Chun's Chinese-styled living room, sipping a cup of oolong tea and watching Xiao Chun of the Purple Orchid, who was sitting across him with Sadık standing at his side, at the same time with worried green eyes.

"I swear upon the trust that you've placed upon me by letting me in in your house that everything I've said is true," Arthur said earnestly.

"Zombies… Then is that rumor true…?" Xiao Chun murmured, as a tiger suddenly ambled in the room toward the prince. With an absent manner, Xiao Chun petted it as he thought further.

Arthur watched the prince as Xiao Chun stood up and began pacing around the room. "You may go, then, Arthur Kirkland. Thank you for telling this to me."

"So long then, Your Majesty," Arthur said, and made as if to go, but Xiao Chun spoke up again.

"Oh, and this is the first time that I've noticed," the prince said with a smile as he looked back at Arthur over his shoulder, "but maybe even Vampires have it… a guilty conscience," he added, in answer to Arthur's blank stare.

* * *

><p>Antonio, Alfred and Kiku watched the slowly approaching Zombies from the rooftop of the supermarket. Alfred noted the sudden increase in number, and asked Kiku what may be the cause.<p>

"Some say that the body is following its habits when it was still human," was Kiku's careful reply, "but it wasn't still certain what really is the reason why Zombies haunt the places that they frequent in the past."

"Eh, señorito," Antonio piped up, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the Zombies far below them. "What are we going to do about them? Is there still a cure?"

"Adult Royalty's Blood is a remedy for every kind of malady," Kiku replied calmly. "I do think that they'll be coming here at any moment, since this situation is getting out of hand."

Basch Zwingli walked up to them, shotgun still slung over one shoulder. "There's nothing that we can do," he said in a despairing voice. "The landlines and cellphone signals are all unresponsive last night. And I saw the only bridge that leads outside here collapsing when I was on the way here. It's as if we're cut off from the rest of the world." He took out a cigarette, lighted the tip, and took a drag. "And there wasn't any news item about this in the radio programs. It's as if we're… non-existent, or something!"

"The Royalty must have taken care of this already, then," Antonio said under his breath, so that only the other two can hear him.

Just then, shouts from below distracted them all. What they saw was some of the refugees in the supermarket running out and fighting their way through the crowd of Zombies.

"I can't take this anymore!" one screamed. "I'll get killed if I stay here in this town any longer!"

"_Dummkopf_!" Basch swore. "It's actually safer in here, you know!"

One of them tripped as he smacked a Zombie off, and immediately a Zombie was upon him. Luckily, Basch had immediately leaped down and shot the Zombie, knocking it off the man. The guy quickly ran off, his footsteps echoing in the darkness.

"Head, head," Kiku sang to Basch in a mocking tone. "Shoot them in the head."

Basch made as if to shoot again, but to his horror, the gun gave a hollow clicking sound, indicating its lack of bullets.

"Fufu," the prince laughed lightly. "Antonio-san—"

"No need to tell me twice, señorito," Antonio said with a wide grin as he leapt down the roof to Basch's aid, arms transforming into paws. He grabbed the road sign standing on the corner and wrenched it from its metal foundations with an almighty roar before smacking the Zombies right and left.

"Outta my way!"

The Zombies dispersed slowly as Antonio swung the pole furiously. Basch stared at him in disbelief.

"What are you?"

Antonio looked back at him with a snarl. "Is that a thing that you should ask to the one who's saving your life right now?"

* * *

><p>"So it's true… Definitely Zombies…"<p>

Xiao Chun watched his mines go off as Zombie after Zombie stepped on the line that separated the city from the forest.

"Are all the areas planted well?" he asked Sadık quietly, dark eyes running over the perimeter of the area meticulously.

"Yes," the android replied without hesitation.

"Good. We need to hold them off. They mustn't go out of the city, or we'll have hell to pay."

"You've said it."

"Those vile things that have taken Kiku-nii-sama's everything," Xiao Chun murmured, perturbed with emotions, as he watched another mine go off. "They took his warriors and his land… His soul and his sanity… And now, they're threatening to take it away from him again…!"

* * *

><p>"So you've survived, Eun Soo," Yong Soo said with delight as Eun Soo finally reached him, chest barely heaving after running for quite a long stretch. "You're still quite a persistent slave, aren't you…?"<p>

"Nii-sama…"

"Oh, by the way, did you see our Kiku-nii-sama?" Yong Soo said with a feral grin. "Our adorable little nii-sama…!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Eeeeeehhh… I cannot think of anything to comment on right now, teehee. Anyways, review! Review! Review!**

** Oh, and Yong Soo's android is actually Iceland, lol. **

**I've finally finished typing out this arc, so... Well...**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Part three of the First Blood arc. As Herakles nears his full charge, everyone's hopes soar high, and light illuminates everyone as the Royal Family finally descends from the Kingdom to the world of the mortals take matters into their hands. Alfred finds out what Kiku's true nature is, and the reason why the Royal siblings must kill each other before they become adults…


	17. Day of Judgment

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Kiku and the others tried to survive while Herakles was out, as the Zombies closed up all routes of escape. Arthur also got Xiao Chun of the Purple Orchid to help, and the younger prince rose to the occasion by preventing the Zombies from wandering out of the city.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, and the appearance of a mythological creature. :))

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genres**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Part three of the First Blood arc. As Herakles nears his full charge, everyone's hopes soar high, and light illuminates everyone as the Royal Family finally descends from the Kingdom to the world of the mortals take matters into their hands. Alfred finds out what Kiku's true nature is, and the reason why the Royal siblings must kill each other before they become adults…

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Seventeenth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Day of Judgment<em>

* * *

><p>"Onii-sama is somewhere in this city," Xiao Chun said with a worried frown. "I hope he's just all right…"<p>

Sadık just made a '_hmm_' sound and crossed his arms.

"The moon is large and lovely tonight, Sadık," the prince added, looking up at the sky.

* * *

><p>"Alfredo, what're you doing?" Antonio said, espying me as I watched the Zombies that were sticking their faces on the glass windows. It's already day <em>three<em> of the Zombie siege. So far they haven't accomplished anything but to make ugly faces against the glass.

"I'm just wondering how much of my life has changed after I met Kiku," I answered him, as I played absently with the pole in my hands. "My life has become one whole horror video game. And that's funny since I was a fan of horror games and movies when I was younger. Ha ha." But now… I scarcely even find the time to joke around because I was too busy being dragged into things. I've been forced to become a more mature individual in… was that three months' time? Oh, wow. Didn't think that I was going to become reformed into a whole new person in that short amount of time. Maybe the change of environment contributed.

Just then, just to interrupt my thinking, a loud screeching sound from the street caught our attention, and to my utmost surprise, I saw a van weaving crazily up towards the front windows of the supermarket. I did a double take when I saw that the driver is a Zombie, and that he had buddies riding shotgun with him too. Talk about evolution!

That's saying something for a monster that has 'absolutely no intelligence' tacked on its résumé. And of course, since this is my life, the van smashed into the store window so hard that glass shards reached me. Wahhh, it's a blood party all 'round, dudes.

Antonio had noticed that most of the barricades had been thrown off at the impact, and now that our glass protection had been broken, the Zombies were clambering over the rubble into the supermarket. The guy with the shotgun, Basch, I think, shouted for everyone to go and hide in the clerk's office, and nobody hesitated to follow. Only Antonio, Basch, and I were the only ones left, but Antonio began shouting at me to go accompany Kiku in the office and protect him. I was reluctant at first, but of course I couldn't very well forsake my runty, dark-haired charge. No offense meant.

And now the truly awesome game of Plants Vs. Zombies comes to life. The only differences are that we aren't, um, mushrooms (it's _night_, ya guys), we weren't in a garden, there aren't specific lanes for Zombies to follow 'cause they're stupider than their cyber counterparts, and… uh… can you think of any more? Lawn-mowers?

Anyways, I found Kiku sitting on a corner (although I can't really see how comfortable his usual sitting position was 'coz it involves sitting on your own legs, but maybe he's used to it), and when he saw me weaving through the people in the room, he sighed a little. I'd like to think that it was because of relief over me or somesuch, but I can't be too hopeful, ya know. Haha. Forget I just said that.

"Antonio-san," was his greeting to me.

"Is still out there and killing our best buddies the Zombies," I said with a touch of sarcasm. I was kinda scared of my tongue, though. Seems as if it has been sharpened to perfection by constantly chafing against Kiku's sarcastic turn, but mehh. Can't help it.

He just sat tighter and went all silent on me. He was staring at me, though, which was making me extra nervous 'coz his dark eyes are so annoying when he makes playful sheep-eyes at me just to make me blush. And I always fall for it, too. Boo. Kiku no fun. He always win, boo.

Sorry for butchering the English language, but that's just because I can't find anything else to butcher here. Oops. Did I just say that? Man, I swear that Kiku was really rubbing off me…

I'm babbling a bit, huh? I dunno, but I seem a bit more livelier here than when I wrote for the A— town incident. Maybe it's because there are some more people besides just us two. A ha ha. Hahaha. Ha haha ha haha ha…

:DD

:DDDDDDDD

I'm crazy. And Kiku is still staring at me as if he was Medusa and I was Perseus. Which would mean that he was… okay, quit with the similes. I'm crazyyyyyy.

"Hey, Kiku."

"Mm?"

"Will Antonio be all right?"

"Did you forget?" He gestured to the ceiling. "It's a nice full moon out there."

"Ohh…" I thought for a minute, then decided to ask, "When can we get outta here?"

"Hera-chan'll finish charging by the time midnight comes. Maybe a bit longer, since we've turned on the lights…" He sat up straighter, his head cocked in deep thought, then he looked as if he just realized something.

"Tch," he let out, and immediately instructed the security guard to turn off all the lights.

"Er, are we trying to conserve power?" I asked through the dark.

"Maybe that's a minor benefit," he murmured, as I felt his slim hand grip gently at the shoulder of my shirt in a rather reassuring context. "But… I guess that the precaution I took was a bit too late…"

"What?"

"I think… he may have seen us already…"

* * *

><p>"Did you see that, Eun Soo," Yong Soo said quietly, looking up at the full moon as it glowed more luminously while the night proceeded on its slow path. "Only the radiance of the moon is illuminating the city that has been descended upon by darkness. But look! A single light dots the impenetrable dark—!" He looked around at his android, who was looking straight ahead with a stoic expression on his face. "That place must be the place where the survivors are clustered in now, right, Eirikur…?"<p>

Eirikur Steilsson nodded blankly at his master. "_Ja_. Must be."

"Come, Eun Soo. I shall give you my Blood," Yong Soo continued with a wicked grin as he sliced his finger with the dagger slung on Eirikur's waist. Drops of vivid red Blood ran out. "Go down to that hell and see if onii-sama is still alive. Hm?"

"But, onii-sama… What if—"

"Then kill him, Eun Soo. After all, you promised me that you'll take care of him yourself!"

* * *

><p>"Pst. Xiao Chun-sama." Sadık roughly shook the prince awake. Xiao Chun, who was resting against a tree, grumbled a little before opening his dark eyes and taking in Sadık's passive face. The android looked smug. "I now know where your nii-sama is hiding!"<p>

Xiao Chun sat up immediately and stared at Sadık incredulously. "Really?"

The android just smirked.

"Take me there!"

* * *

><p>Antonio sighed as he continued to drive Zombies out of the building, when a certain familiar scent hit his nose and he snarled immediately.<p>

"Oi!" he called out to Basch, who was standing there in incredulous awe of him. "Go in the office and barricade it well…! I have to check something upstairs!"

The man looked startled, but nodded to show his affirmation. Antonio groaned as the scent got stronger and followed it with a reckless manner to the rooftop.

"So it's you!" he snarled when he saw the intruder. "You can hide your presence… but your scent never!"  
>Eun Soo looked surprised when Antonio faced her readily, his olive green eyes becoming brighter and his pupils becoming more constricted as the full moon gathered strength.<p>

"What can you do, Werewolf warrior?" Eun Soo taunted, raising a staff and slamming its end into the ground again to make an intimidating sound. "The Vampire is away, so what can you do?"

Antonio laughed cheerfully, and raised his hand to the moon. "It's a special night for Werewolves tonight, exiled princess. I think I can handle you by myself." He raised and crossed his arms in the greeting manner of the Werewolves. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Antonio of the Carriedo clan and avenger of Lovino of the Vargas clan!"

"Lovino Vargas?" Eun Soo looked thoughtful as she held her staff ready. "The older of the Vargas brothers, I presume? Under the employ of Kiku-nii-sama?"

"Si, señorita!" Antonio said with a smile. "Perhaps you know who blackmailed him?"

"Ah, that I do not know," Eun Soo said with a shake of her beautiful head. "Are you a Vassal of my nii-sama also?"

"Not really, part-timer perhaps, since the Carriedos are not officially under any member of the Royalty," Antonio thoughtfully replied. "Ah, shall we begin the _flamenco_, señorita?"

And they rushed at each other to start the combat.

* * *

><p>The door to the clerk's office was pounded heavily from the outside, making the women in the room scream. The barricade consisted of a long wooden board and boxes with heavy equipment inside, but I don't think it will hold for long. The night still dragged on, and Kiku watched my luminous wristwatch impatiently as it neared ten minutes to midnight.<p>

"Ten more minutes," he kept saying over and over again, as if it was a mantra to ward off evil spirits.

"Hey, kid," Basch called out to Kiku, as the door was pounded some more. "You're planning something, aren't you? Care to enlighten me?"

I felt Kiku tense and stand up. "Yes, I had a plan. But with the situation right now, it's becoming exceedingly difficult to execute." I heard his sigh through the darkness. "I need someone to run a suicide mission. And right now that is an absolute necessity."

"I'll go," I found myself saying, but he shot me down in an unusually snapping tone.

"No, you will not, Alfred Jones," he said, angrily. "I cannot afford to lose my only Blood warrior on something so simple as to flick an android's switch on!"

Ah, is that what he has in mind? Whoa. The time has come for the plants to own the Zombies. Ha ha.

* * *

><p>Sadık continued to spew out knives to strike Zombies down as they proceeded through town, Xiao Chun riding his shoulders precariously as he scanned the surroundings for his elder brother's location.<p>

"Hurry, Sadık!"

"That's what I was doing."

* * *

><p>"Get away!"<p>

Basch boldly ran out of the building, holding a metal pole to smack Zombies away as he proceeded in haste to Herakles's direction. His eyes on the lone figure of the android standing in the middle of the parking lot, Basch began running quickly and soon reached the unmoving Herakles.

"This is the cable?" he wondered, quickly pulling it out of the android's ear.

Herakles immediately booted up, his dull green eyes lighting up as he looked around slowly. Then behind him, Basch suddenly screamed.

A Zombie had snuck in on him and had managed to bite him on the shoulder. Herakles turned around and calmly took hold of the snarling Zombie before sending it flying away over the tops of the houses. Basch looked up at Herakles, amazed at the display.

"So you're their trump card," he said with a weak chuckle, before keeling over as the pain of the poison began grabbing him.

"_Mein Gott_! Please don't let me turn into a monster!" Basch yelled as spasms began taking over his body. I felt rather sorry for him, and maybe Kiku felt so too, as he flicked the light switch on and saw a loaded pistol in one of the storage cabinets.

"Arigato, Zwingli-san…" he said quietly as he cocked the gun and aimed for Basch's head.

_Bam_!

Basch sprawled out on the concrete, spared from the pain of transformation as Herakles lifted him up and laid him in the safety of the supermarket building.

"_Geia sas, o I̱raklí̱s_," Kiku greeted the android, earning him a respectful bow from Herakles. "You have slept for long enough."

The android didn't answer. I expected that much from him, at least. Meanwhile, Kiku called out, "Antonio, we're escaping out of here!"

* * *

><p>Eun Soo clutched at her stomach as she lay face down on the floor, her wounds slowly closing up. Antonio sighed regretfully as he heard Kiku's call.<p>

"Here is where we part then, Blood warrior," he said quietly, looking down at Eun Soo. "_Adios_!"

He leapt down from the roof, at the same time that Xiao Chun saw them and approached, still on Sadık's shoulders.

"_Nii-sama_!"

"Fufu, you were late," Kiku said, as Xiao Chun dropped sinuously to the ground and affectionately engaged his brother in a worried hug. "But at least you missed out on seeing things that you shouldn't experience."

"Well, the Vampire Arthur Kirkland was the one who called me," Xiao Chun said, letting go of Kiku.

"I surmised as much," Kiku said with a smile. "I'm glad he's got the heart to."

"Ah, so Yong Soo has decided to turn up too," Xiao Chun sighed. "I remember him, cheeky bastard…"

"Yes, but he confronted me in too flashy a fashion," Kiku said as the smile dropped away suddenly. "Involving the mortal world this much…"

I was listening to their conversation, but a sudden light coming from the night sky distracted me completely.

What… was that…? A bird…?

Yes, a bird, an immense one. Made of flames colored an intense blue…!

"Kiku! What was that?" I found myself asking him as I pointed upward to the beautiful flying creature. It had a long, shimmering tail of blue flames.

"Ah, the Royal Family…" I heard Antonio murmur in awe. "They have decided to descend, eh?"

"Huh?" I was, like, so confused.

"It's a Phoenix, haven't you seen one before?" he snapped, irritated. "Although I have to admit that it's my first time seeing one up close too, but I'm sure you've read about them in a book somewhere!"

"That's not what I meant!" I snapped, when Xiao Chun answered my question for me.

"Isn't it beautiful, Blood warrior?" he said, moving to stand beside me and watch the immense blue Phoenix gliding slowly across the sky. "That is the form that we Royal Family members will take once we reach full adulthood. If Kiku-nii-sama will be the lucky winner in this sibling bloodbath, then he'll grow up into a beautiful golden Phoenix of perpetual youth. He'll still be able to revert into his human form, though, 'cause a bird as large as that takes up a lot of room, don't you think?"

I instinctively looked at Kiku, who was watching the bird with an unreadable look in his eyes. "I'm not interested in being a Phoenix, though," he suddenly said. "I'm not interested in the Crown."

"Silly onii-sama. But haven't you heard of the legend of the Phoenix, Blood warrior?" Xiao Chun said with a sigh. "The legendary creature whose Blood has the ability to make the drinker immortal?"

Kiku turned to look at me. The corners of his lips were turned up into a half-smile. "This rain of red fire is beautiful, isn't it?"

Indeed, vivid red tongues of fire were falling from the Phoenix's blue tail, showering us with mysterious fire that doesn't burn.

"These are actually droplets of an adult Royalty's Blood," Xiao Chun supplied when he saw my awestruck gaping.

I noticed that whenever the red fires touch a Zombie, the curse lifts and they become humans again, as if nothing happened. They were still all knocked out, though.

"But now you understand, right?" Xiao Chun put in seriously. "The reason why we have to battle one another for the Crown, while we are still young and yet to become adults?"

I looked at him confusedly, so he sighed. "The reason is simple—when we turn into adults, we become perfect, benevolent existences that cannot kill. That's why only one can be left. Or else, the Kingdom will be split between multiple Royalties, and even the mortal world will be affected." He looked up at the fire still raining down. "The Royalty will be sure to shut this matter about the Zombies up…"

* * *

><p>Yong Soo, from his vantage point, saw the beautiful Phoenix and smiled widely.<p>

"I don't care if you are an ancestor, or Okaa-sama herself," he muttered. "Judge my actions if you can!"

* * *

><p>Well, only three things registered in my mind while all this confusion was going on.<p>

First: That I was glad that everyone was safe from the Zombie plague.

Second: That I was hoping that Basch Zwingli will find peace.

And lastly: That Kiku was a Phoenix. And that fact made him, literally, belong in the sky and I on the earth. And that made a world of difference to me, poor mortal who suddenly became a Blood warrior to a certain dark-haired prince who was prone to sudden mood swings and is partial to tea.

Can I truly reach him? He just seemed so far away…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Poor Alfie. Internal struggle, huh?**

** Review and tell me how you liked this chapter. Was it good? And in what way? Those two questions'll be your reviewer's guide, 'kay?:)))**

**I'm leaving for three days 'cause it's our retreat! Be sure to drop by a review while I'm away, or I'll get really disappointed and sad.;(**

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Kiku is brazenly accused of letting zombies out in the wild by Yong Soo and stands before the judge. He and Yong Soo, therefore, must battle to the death in order to be freed. The last part of the First Blood arc.


	18. Duel

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>The mysterious Royal Family finally descended from the Kingdom to the world of the mortals to take matters into their hands. Alfred found out that Kiku is a Phoenix, and he also learns about the reason why the Royal siblings must kill each other before they become adults.<p>

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, and a duel to the death! Also appearances of the Baltic Trio:))) And hey! _Shounen Ai?_

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genres**: Horror & Supernatural

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><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: The last part of the First Blood arc. Kiku is brazenly accused of letting zombies out in the wild by Yong Soo and stands before the judge. He and Yong Soo, therefore, must battle to the death in order to be freed.

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

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><p><strong><em>Eighteenth Drop of Blood:<em>**  
><em>Duel<em>

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><p>Xiao Chun was right in assuming that the Royalty will hush things up. Nothing was heard of in the news—from the television, newspapers, radio… nothing.<p>

Alfred had quietly shut up himself in his room, avidly watching every news program that he came upon, but there was nothing about the Zombie attack. Kiku, meanwhile, had taken to his tea and looked so grave while doing so that even oblivious Matthew was worried about the condition of the master of the house.

Kiku had been drinking tea on the front lawn when they came—a group of strange men. There wasn't really anything unremarkable about them, but their vivid black formal clothing made them stand out. Antonio was doing sit ups beside the tea table when they came in (and was doing a very noisy job of counting out his reps), and he had been nearing seven hundred counts when—

"Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum!" the leader, a blond-haired young man with thin spectacles read out from a scroll that he had spread out. "You have been accused of the—"

"Aren't they the Royal Guards?" Antonio said quietly to Kiku, stopping his sit-ups to listen.

Kiku did an imperceptible nod.

"—crime of releasing Zombies into the wild, and therefore will be subjected to arrest—"

"Wait!" Antonio roared out, angrily. "The señorito wasn't involved about the releasing of those Zombies! It was Yong Soo of the Pale—"

"I'd like to request you to keep your own accusations to yourself, Werewolf," the bespectacled leader interrupted politely. "We are only carrying out our orders, and that is to arrest Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum by the accusation of the aforementioned offense. The Royal Family will be the ones who will decipher for the truth themselves."

Kiku stood up after draining his cup. "Eduard-san, you don't have to be half as serious. I will willingly go with you. Just let me change into something suitable, and then we can go."

Eduard von Bock, the leader of the Royal Guards, smiled warmly at the prince and knelt on the ground on one knee, the others following his lead. "Such a noble heart. Please forgive our rudeness."

Kiku tapped a finger on his bottom lip with such an earnestly thoughtful face that Antonio almost smiled. "Fufu… Making accusations like this… I wonder who's the culprit…"

* * *

><p>The Kingdom of the Rising Sun is an extremely loose term that stretches across several universes and select worlds, including the world of the mortals. Its capital was in a separate domain from its territories, wherein the Phoenixes are the sole creatures. All Phoenixes are of the Royal Family, and all of them had been King or Queen sometime in their lives, and of course had battled their siblings to obtain the Throne.<p>

Alfred looked all around the room where Kiku's trial was to be held. It was a high-ceilinged room, with benches for the spectators, two stands placed facing each other for the defendant and the plaintiff (the only difference from a normal court in Earth, but whatever), a jury box, a place for the judge and what else. Alfred hadn't been in court before, so his limited terminology was somewhat hampering him as he looked around.

They were sitting behind the defendant's stand, Kiku's proud back turned to them. Alfred couldn't see Kiku's expression, but from what he knew of Kiku's personality, Kiku must have been as calm as if he was just back at the house while drinking black tea.

Kiku was wearing a formal black kimono with extremely loose sleeves, eighteen large golden chrysanthemums embroidered at its hem, and a golden kanmuri upon his head, while Yong Soo, who had just walked in with a big smile plastered on his mischievous face, was wearing a black hanbok with a pattern of fifteen roses of Sharon and a black gat on his head.

"The court is now in session." The judge, a dark-haired man with a stern look on his face, had banged the gavel. "Read the charges against the defendant."

Kiku began a staring war with Yong Soo while the charges were read.

"The defendant, Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum, against the plaintiff, Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon…"

"Hey, Antonio," Alfred began whispering to the Werewolf. "Why am I here also?"

"A Blood warrior's fate is tied with his master," Antonio replied grimly. "Once the Royal Family makes the wrong conclusion and decides to execute the señorito, you'll receive the same punishment, since you'll be seen as an accomplice whether you have a hand or not in whatever offense they decide to pile upon him."

Arthur, sitting at the other side of Antonio, laughed lightly. "Come on, Alfred. I don't think that you are as big of a prat as you'd like to appear. Don't you see? All of the factors are against Kiku."

"…Anyways, as based from the testimony of biologist Feliks Łukasiewicz, it is clear that Kiku-sama has attacked Yong Soo-sama first. It is important to consider the nature of Zombies, and the dangers that they pose when released into the wild!" A man with brown hair cut just past his chin, presumably the prosecutor, declared, gesturing wildly to Feliks. "It is clear that the ones who have infiltrated Yong Soo-sama's land were the ones who have set those Zombies free!"

"Wait!" Kiku's counsel, a short man with wavy blond hair said with a nervous voice. "We c-cannot resort t-to c-circumstantial evidence alone!" He shook a bit more before continuing, "It is u-unheard of to a-accept such wild a-accusations without any physical e-evidence!"

Alfred's eyes were already a dangerous red as the lawyer continued to stutter, and Antonio and Arthur were both fearful of what the Blood warrior may break if this drags on. Luckily, the lawyer began gaining confidence as he proceeded with his statement.

"As events have shown, the defendant himself had his territory invaded by Zombies last year, and all his Vassals were killed—no, even destroyed! His Blood warriors have also been infected by the vile creatures, and so we can't say that he himself will use such a method to attack a sibling because he's been a victim himself!"

The prosecutor snorted. "According to our informant, the defendant has been gathering those Zombies for personal reasons and had been a mere victim of his own actions!"

"Y-you can't just base everything from testimony! You should present the court with hard evidence!"

"Wait!"

Everyone's heads, including Kiku's, turned to Yong Soo as the prince began speaking.

"Your Honor, I'm prepared to spend many years to put all my evidence forward, but you forget that we are members of the Royal Family, of the Phoenix clan." Yong Soo smiled at Kiku indulgently, and Kiku stared back with a dead serious look on his face. "And if we fight this out for years, we might reach maturity. ("_Bastardo_," Alfred heard Antonio mutter) Kiku-nii-sama is already eighteen, and most Royalty mature at twenty-five years of human age. Once he reaches maturity before the case is resolved, he cannot be judged anymore."

"That's true, Yong Soo," the judge said musingly.

"Your Honor," Kiku raised his hand with a bored look on his face. "I have a suggestion."

* * *

><p>The night was windy and chilly, and the crescent moon clearly showed through the dark clouds. Alfred looked up at the top of the aqueduct, where four figures are currently standing: Eirikur, Yong Soo's android; Yong Soo, in front of Eirikur; Kiku, facing Yong Soo; and Herakles, behind Kiku.<p>

The two androids's eyes were glowing a deep concentric red, and were both staring up ahead blankly as their masters took their positions. Kiku wore a white kimono with a black hakama over it and was equipped with a katana, while Yong Soo was wearing a black hanbok and was equipped with a hwando (which looked very much like the katana, thin and long).

"Where are we?" Alfred asked, drawing his jacket tighter around him as the wind got even colder.

"The Royal aqueduct," Arthur replied, looking up at the structure with an air of interest. "Built by the first Phoenix hundreds of thousands of years ago."

"So this will become the execution site for one of them, huh," Antonio said with a heavy sigh.

"Er—execution site?" Alfred repeated nervously. "What—?"

"Kiku wanted a duel between the both of them, so a duel he'll get," Antonio said seriously. "It's either win or you die. Dueling was prohibited by the Royal Family to settle disputes unless two Royal children are the opposing parties."

"_Fratello_ Antonio!" a familiar voice tore from behind them, and all three turned to see Feliciano Vargas saunter up to them with a cheerful air, his curl bobbing in the wind. "It's been a while! Who would've thought that we'd meet in somewhere other than a battlefield!"

"Feli!" Antonio said with a grin, and his eyes fell on Lili, who was walking shyly behind Feliciano. "Ah, so you've brought the Mermaid too? Lili, right?"

"Wait," Feliciano frowned as he spotted Arthur Kirkland, who smiled at him tauntingly. "A Vampire, _fratello_!"

"Wait before you strike, Werewolf," Arthur sighed, crossing his arms. "This is a sacred battleground, and we mustn't mar the sacredness of the battle occurring up there by starting a fight ourselves!"

"He is right, Feliciano, aru," another voice spoke out from the darkness, and in walked Yao of the White Peony and his Blood warrior, Ivan Braginski. The latter was dragging a rusty water pipe behind him, while the former was wearing a beautiful black han fu that was decorated with twenty white peonies at the hem.

Yao's android had taken the form of a mini-panda and was gamboling around the prince while uttering squeaks whenever it hit a surface. Ivan's violet eyes were following the panda with narrowed eyes, and Alfred feared that he might snap at anytime and whack the android in two using his pipe.

Ivan, as if sensing that someone was staring at him, quickly looked up and stared into Alfred's eyes. Alfred felt a jolt of something akin to fear and anger run up his spine as their gazes connected irresistibly. Ivan's violet eyes had a hungry expression buried deep in them, and Alfred felt that the Muscovite was subtly trying to intimidate him.  
>"This is indeed a sacred battleground, aru yo," Yao said solemnly, golden eyes fixed upon the shadowy figures perched precariously on the top of the narrow aqueduct. "Control yourself, Feliciano."<p>

"Si, Yao-sama," Feliciano said humbly, kneeling down on one knee. Alfred looked around from the group and saw a slight, dark-haired girl standing some way off, clutching a poleax and looking extremely worried.

"Antonio, who's that—?"

Antonio looked at the girl that Alfred was pointing at. "Eun Soo. Yong Soo's Blood warrior."

"I see…" Alfred watched the girl curiously for a few more moments before turning his attention back to the combatants at the top of the aqueduct.

* * *

><p>"It's been a while, Kiku-nii-sama," Yong Soo said with a smirk, as he raised his sword. "Being able to talk like this…<p>

"I couldn't possibly forgive you by calling me with those honorifics, Yong Soo," Kiku said with a sweet smile while he ran the tip of his finger on the flat surface of his sword. "Because I do not consider you as one of my brothers anymore…!"

"Ah, why so cold, Kiku-nii-sama?" Yong Soo hissed. "I really liked that cat whom Herakles named after you!"

Kiku's smile became wider. "Ah, isn't that the cat that you killed by drowning it in my tub? Very barbaric, I must say. I had to reprogram Hera-chan carefully before he winds up having a screw loose because of his extensive searching for that cat."

Yong Soo laughed. "Just a little prank, onii-sama…"

"By the way, do you know Lovino Vargas?" Kiku asked with a scowl, glancing at Antonio. The Werewolf looked as if he had been shocked by an electric current.

"I can't say I've heard the name," Yong Soo said with a smile. "Why?"

"Nothing," Kiku sighed. "Well, if you're not in any way acquainted with my former Vassal, I guess there'll be no objections if I kill you. Hm, Antonio-san?" he added loudly to the Spaniard, who sighed with relief and shook his head. "Good. Then let's begin this!"

And he rushed forward to deliver the first blow. Yong Soo easily parried it, and returned a mighty blow of his own, which made Kiku stagger a bit. Alfred, horrified by Kiku's unusual loss of balance, watched with a thrill of horror as the Royal siblings began a series of clashes between metal and metal as they both fought for their lives.

"Blood warrior."

Alfred turned around and watched Xiao Chun, who was dressed in an oversized black duanghua with a purple orchid pattern and black pants, as the prince walked toward him while the sounds of battle pierced the air. His android strolled beside him, a bored smirk directed at Herakles when he saw the latter at the top of the aqueduct.

"What're you doing here?" Alfred asked the prince curiously.

"Yao-nii-sama and I are asked to be witnesses," Xiao said indifferently, and sighed. "Blood warrior, pray for Kiku-nii-sama. In this battle, he is actually the underdog, despite his skill in weapon combat being undoubtedly superior to Yong Soo's."

"Why—?"

"Kiku-nii-sama's opponent is Yong Soo," Xiao Chun replied, crossing his arms. "And Yong Soo was the reason why Kiku-nii-sama lost everything that night one year ago… Because of his traitorous act, even though Kiku-nii-sama wasn't interested in the Throne, he lost all of his Vassals and Blood warriors. That's why Kiku-nii-sama wants to kill Yong Soo by his own hands." Xiao Chun looked up as Kiku's arms trembled with the effort of having to parry all of Yong Soo's heavy blows. "And now he's in an actual fight with Yong Soo. Do you know what I mean?"

Alfred nodded solemnly. "I think I do."

"The blood is rushing to his head and he's losing it," Xiao Chun continued. "Keeping his cool is one of Kiku-nii-sama's greatest attributes that help him defeat his enemies easily. But right now, his heart is functioning for him, and not his head. Which could very well be fatal." Xiao Chun frowned. "If he doesn't regain his calm before long, I'm afraid he'll have no chance of beating Yong Soo. And did you notice? Kiku-nii-sama wore the collar of his kimono in the inverse… It's as if he's accepted the inevitability of one of them meeting a painful death…"

"No…" Alfred ran forward and began shouting out Kiku's name lustily, the echoes helpfully bringing the prince the encouragement that he so badly needed. "Kiku! _KIKU_!"

Kiku heard the calls of his Blood warrior, at the same time that Yong Soo managed to break through Kiku's defenses and bring his sword on the elder prince's arm a bit too heavily. Kiku hissed as the blade penetrated through his skin fiercely, almost breaking his arm, and bright red Blood almost the very color of fire itself began dripping out of the deep wound. At the same time, Alfred's blue eyes broke out into red, his brain sending out harsh waves of fury at his master's injury and almost making him turn around and snap Antonio's arm in two, as the Werewolf had grabbed ahold of him when he noticed that Alfred was in great distress.

Kiku's sword had fallen out of his hand as the prince fell, the weapon spinning behind him out of easy reach as Yong Soo approached him and smiled at the sight of the vivid red staining the pure white of Kiku's kimono.

"God, he is loud," Kiku said softly with an involuntary wince as he jolted his injured arm.

"In the end, you're still too soft to win against anyone, nii-sama," Yong Soo said as his diabolical grin widened. "You're just a pretty plaything to toy with, after all…"

Kiku just glared up at him, clutching at his arm which was staining his white kimono with bright red Blood. His normally stoic eyes were growing more furious by the second.

"Surely you don't still think that you can win against me, nii-sama?" Yong Soo said gleefully. "After all…"

He suddenly lashed out at Kiku, the tip of the sword slicing through his clothes and lightly piercing the skin underneath. Making no effort to dodge the blow, Kiku let out a hiss of pain.

"Light wounds sting the most, eh, Kiku-nii-sama?" Yong Soo said with a cackle as he raised his sword to his lips and caught bright drops of Kiku's Blood on his tongue. "I can't wait to become older… Your Blood is so beautiful to look at… So—_red_…"

Kiku looked close to snapping when he saw Yong Soo lick off his Blood from the blade.

"You have no right to drink my Blood, traitor!"

"Give it a try, nii-sama…" he said with a grin. "Don't you want to win against me? Don't you want to kill the man who owed you the most…?"

Kiku slowly stood up and swayed a bit as he regained his balance. Then, with a swift movement, he stepped back and kicked the katana, making it fall off the ledge.

Yong Soo's dark eyes widened in shock. "What—"

Alfred could hear Antonio's and Xiao Chun's horrified gasps at the prince's reckless action, even as he gazed upward, his red eyes never leaving his master's calm face.

"His sword—!"

"Why—!"

He has won the battle already, Alfred could surmise as much from Kiku's face, which had instantly returned to its usual calm façade after discarding his weapon. As long as Kiku's quick mind can think clearly, he will win.

_Maybe, from the start, he has been planning all of this_?

Kiku leered at his brother, the expression eerily haunting. "What, are you afraid of killing me now?"

He pressed a hand over the heavily bleeding cut on his right arm as he smiled calmly at the younger prince. Yong Soo looked both shocked and angry as Kiku stepped forward, urging him to step back.

"You were always like that, Yong Soo." Kiku's face held a subtly mocking expression as he continued forward, his breaths coming in sharp bursts. "Despicable… and above all…"

Yong Soo held his sword out in front of him like a petrified statue as he continued to step back from Kiku's approach.

"A coward. _Ne_?"

Kiku's mock-gentle smile made Yong Soo break out in chills. It was as if he was looking at Kiku of the White Chrysanthemum's ghost. Near enough to touch, yet still far away…

"Eun Soo was prepared for death, even when you killed her for your own gain…" Kiku murmured softly. "Yes, I know that you committed another grave crime against another of our siblings! You killed her and took away from her the peace of dying an honorable death by giving her half-immortality. That is a grave offense, dear brother. Didn't you remember? Never, ever resurrect anyone that you've killed yourself…"

Yong Soo broke out into a crazed smile as Kiku stopped speaking. Kiku, however, knew that mischief was in the air as Yong Soo suddenly lunged forward with his sword, about to leap for his throat—

"Fufufu~ I saw that coming…"

Kiku nimbly dodged the blow and used the momentum as Yong Soo lost balance by grabbing at the latter's weapon and successfully wrestling it away. At the same second, Yong Soo drew a dagger from underneath his clothes and slashed at Kiku. Kiku, however, was too quick for him, having driven the sword cleanly in his throat and out through the back of his neck before the dagger can make contact.

Yao let out a soft hiss of satisfaction at the finishing blow. "Well met, indeed."

"—Ki… ku!" Alfred, watching below, felt a kind of strange triumph as he saw Yong Soo's Blood flow, a duller red than Kiku's own, onto the blade of his own sword and onto Kiku's white hands.

"I won't die…" Yong Soo's words were garbled as he tried to speak through his grazed larynx. "Onii-sama… I won't…"

"Fufu," Kiku merely chuckled, dark eyes turning a wicked red with bloodlust, as he mercilessly wrenched the sword out of Yong Soo's throat, finishing off his larynx and vein with a sick tearing and gurgling sound. "Just shut the hell up!" he snapped with a half-crazed look, his eyes as brightly red as his Blood when he smiled—no, smirked, at Yong Soo.

Alfred wondered how a person can say those five words and still manage to look like an angel.

Eirikur Steilsson's red concentric eyes blinked on and off a few times, going faster and faster each time with a series of beeps, until he self-destructed by exploding, signaling his master's death. Herakles was on the point of self destruction too, but after a few minutes, the red of his eyes gave way to their usual dull green when Kiku approached him with a wan smile.

"Hera-chan… It's over… Finally over…"

Moreover, as if to further dissipate the fears of the people watching below, the judge suddenly transformed into a bright silver Phoenix and glided across the sky, calling out, "It is the Golden Chrysanthemum's victory!"

"Ah, Ojī-sama, such a subtle man, aru…" Yao murmured with something like wonder in his amber eyes as he looked up and watched the bright silver Phoenix glide away.

Xiao Chun had sank to his knees in immense relief. "Thank goodness… Kiku-nii-sama is the victor!"

"Ah, the android is also connected to its master," Antonio remarked to Alfred, as the Blood warrior slowly recovered from the sudden euphoric high. "If the señorito was the one who had been killed, then Herakles would have self-destructed too… Er, are you okay, Alfredo? You still look as if you're clubbed by a Troll or something…"

"You're joking me, right?" Alfred said with a nasty look and making Arthur Kirkland laugh slyly.

* * *

><p>"Have you heard the news?" Gilbert Beilschmidt approached his prisoner, who was still tied up to the wall. The castle was dark. "It seems that Yong Soo-sama has been killed by Kiku-sama in a duel."<p>

Kim of the Red Lotus, for the first time, struggled against her bonds at the mention of the news. Gilbert chuckled and went to remove her gag.

"It seems as if the beloved older sister wants to say something, eh?"

When the cloth was finally removed, Kim smiled mirthlessly and said in a voice raspy from underuse, "Ah, Kiku-chan has bought me time, hasn't he…?"

Gilbert started chuckling when he heard Kim's unusually coldblooded statement. "Oh, I can never understand how treacherously Royal minds work…" He leaned close and whispered, "I guess you wouldn't mind if I finish Kiku-sama off by my own hands, then…?"

* * *

><p>Matthew sat moodily in the café as he ate his chocolate sundae.<p>

"It's been a day since they left me all alone with Pochi-kun in the house," he sighed. "I wonder what happened to Alfie…?"

"Look, there's Matt!" Alfred shouted from outside, making Matthew drop his spoon in shock as he glanced at Alfred and Antonio, who had their faces stuck on the other side of the panes of the window directly beside him.

"You guys…" he mumbled when the two strolled into the café.

"The señorito was looking for you," Antonio sighed. Matthew squeaked.

"I'm sorry!"

"He doesn't look angry, though. But he did tell me to come and call for him when we've found you," Alfred said. "Shall I?"

"Go on," Antonio said. "I'm hungry, after all… might as well grab something here in town…

Alfred rushed out of the café, almost crashing into Arthur, who was also about to come in.

"Oh, hello," Arthur said with a smile.

"Hi. Seen Kiku?"

"In the house."

"Great, just great…" So Alfred had to climb up the hill again…

"I'm going in," Arthur said with a sly smile. "Bye."

"Yeah. See ya."

* * *

><p>"Hera-chan, I have killed him already. I have exacted my revenge." Kiku, wearing only an embroidered nagajuban whose sleeves neatly covered the bandages on his wounded arm, stared into the mirror that hung on the wall of his bedroom before looking at Herakles over his shoulder. "Maybe it's time to lie in the defensive again. I find that being on the offensive takes a lot out of you."<p>

Herakles silently helped Kiku put on his heavy outer kimono as the prince held out his injured arm. Kiku's dark eyes were uncharacteristically gentle as he engaged his reflection into a staring contest. When the kimono was snugly fitted on his slight body, Kiku reached for the thin silver obi folded neatly on the table beside him and drew the beautiful white kimono firmly shut over the golden nagajuban.

Finally fully clothed, Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum turned away from the clear surface of the mirror, his eyes still unusually soft as he sank to his knees and wept for the younger brother that he had lost.

"_Annyeonghi-gaseyo, dong-saeng_…"

* * *

><p>"Kiku?" Alfred walked up on the stairs up the second floor where Kiku's room was located, when he saw Kiku, wearing a white kimono with black chrysanthemums embroidered on the sleeves, already standing on the top landing with his eyes a pale red from the tears and a sarcastic smile gracing his lips.<p>

"Have you seen Matthew-san already?"

"Yeah, almost missed him again." Alfred walked up to Kiku's side and grinned. "Uh, so we're wearing white today huh?"

"Fufu. Observant, are we?"

Alfred can just catch a whiff of Kiku's scent—he faintly smelled of flowers. Kiku looked up at him through his glistening eyelashes with a curious expression, and flashes of memories ran through the blond's mind—

Kiku peering down on him and telling Herakles what a beautiful corpse Alfred makes…

Kiku swinging the roaring chainsaw on the burning invisible kitsune amidst the flames, blood splattering everywhere…

Kiku looking like a nightingale in flight as he tackled Xiao Chun to the ground, prepared for the consequences of his act…

Kiku looking up at him with trusting dark eyes as he let Alfred pin him to the wall and sink his fangs into the pale skin, just to grant Alfred a longer life…

Kiku's graceful black form amid the shattering silvery crystals of the falling chandelier, and Alfred thinking that he never saw a more beautiful sight in his life…

Kiku looking like a black Angel of Death as he swung a scythe across the air…

Kiku going down the stairs to smile sarcastically at him, with a sweetly mocking "Good afternoon, Alfred"…

_Maybe I do like Kiku just the way he is, after all… Even if he has many faults embedded along with his perfections… And even if someday, those imperfections will soon be gone once he reaches adulthood…_

"…_Alfred_?" His name fell so softly from Kiku's lips that he wondered if he had really heard it.

His eyes locked firmly with Kiku, Alfred leaned close and was about to press his lips on Kiku's enticing ones when Kiku smiled, slowly raised his uninjured arm—

—And sent Alfred tumbling down the stairs with a sharp blow that took the Blood warrior's breath away.

Alfred looked up blearily to see himself lying at Arthur Kirkland's feet, who had apparently walked up to the bottom of the stairs as Alfred was busy dilly-dallying. Alfred's pale face blushed furiously as he realized what Arthur would have seen had Kiku not pushed him away at the last minute. Getting up with a mumbled apology, he dashed into his room and stayed inside, his heart pounding itself almost to pieces when he realized what he was about to do.

"_GOD_, _I FUCKED UP_…!" he moaned into his pillow, burning red with mortification.

Meanwhile, Arthur climbed the staircase to stand beside Kiku, who was looking unusually calm, even for him.

"Arthur-san?"

Arthur let out a barely suppressed guffaw. "So bloody tactless… Was he intending to... er, you know..."

"Fufu, I'm surprised at his boldness." Kiku sighed and absentmindedly caressed his injured arm with his good hand. "He fell really hard, hm?"

"Oh?" Arthur smirked. "And why did you push him away?"

Kiku raised his eyebrows slightly at the Vampire's smile before turning around gracefully with a sweeping motion of his sleeves, the blank look in his dark eyes telling the Vampire that Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum was, for the first time, unable to come up with a sarcastic remark.

"Actually, Arthur-san, I do not know if I can answer that question truthfully…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Kiku's sadistic side, ripping out Yong Soo's throat like that! Hope you guys aren't disturbed or anything…**

**And Alfred no baka! Why did you not kiss him faster! *cough cough* Anyways, sorry for my fangirling… HIP HIP HOORAY, improvement on the AmeriPan. :3**

**Wait for the next update. We finally finished the First Blood arc! WHOA. I'm really "burning genius," like Jo March!**

* * *

><p><strong>The Royal War:<strong> _Progress Chart_

_ Eliminated siblings are marked with an _[x]_. Those still alive are left blank. _

[ ] Yao of the White Peony/_China_ (no kills)

[ ] Kim of the Red Lotus/_Vietnam_ (no kills)

[ ] Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum/_Japan_ (1 kill)

[ ] Annan of the Golden Shower/_Thailand_ (no kills)

[ ] Xiao Chun of the Purple Orchid/_Hong Kong_ (no kills)

[ ] Bataar of the White Lotus/_Mongolia_ (no kills)

[x] Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon/_South Korea_ (1 kill, first Blood)

[x] Eun Soo of the White Magnolia/_North Korea_ (no kills)

[ ] Xiao Mei of the Plum Blossom/_Taiwan_ (no kills)

Both of the Korean twins are eliminated already (Eun Soo is unqualified because of her Blood warrior status). Good luck to the rest!

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia<strong>: A "golden chrysanthemum" is actually a redundancy. In Greek, chrysanthemum means "golden flower" because in the past, all wild mums in Greece are a deep yellow color. Coincidentally, the Imperial Family of Japan uses the golden chrysanthemum as their seal because its many yellow petals make it look like the sun. :DD, Girisha-san.

**Another tidbit**: In Princess Resurrection, the voice actor of the judge in episode 24 is the great Daisuke Namikawa. Tee hee. Ring any bells?

Belated Happy Chrysanthemum festival, Japan! September 9 is the day of the chrysanthemum! Double nine is supposed to be lucky!

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Eun Soo of the White Magnolia decides to continue living for the sake of her twin. Meanwhile, Gilbert plans mischief, proving that even with Yong Soo's death, Kiku (and consequently, Alfred) will have no peace until the end of the war, because the Vampire is aiming for the kill…


	19. Curse

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Kiku successfully exacts his revenge on Yong Soo by killing him. Meanwhile, Alfred finds out that he has already developed feelings for this dark prince… And that's already a flagship for you, you screaming fangirls out there…<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, and the long-awaited re-emergence of ORESAMA himself! Hahaha… His awesomeness might kill Kiku, though…

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genres**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Eun Soo of the White Magnolia decides to live to get revenge for her twin. Meanwhile, Gilbert plans mischief, proving that even with Yong Soo's death, Kiku (and consequently, Alfred) will have no peace until the end of the war, because the Vampire is aiming for the kill…

**Disclaimer**: I will never own APH, guys. All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nineteenth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Curse<em>

* * *

><p>Lightning unleashed its fury—thunder crashed its mighty cymbals as the storm raged on its path.<p>

An android lay face-down on the grass, her ribbons ripped to shreds, her blue dress spattered with mud and soaked with rain. The gun installed on her left arm, a replacement for the hand that she lost, was passive.

Someone walked up beside her side and tutted disapprovingly. Someone wearing a white lab coat and a scheming smile on his face.

* * *

><p>"Eun Soo-sama?"<p>

The dark-haired Blood warrior was sitting on an immaculate white bed, her wavy hair framing the sides of her lovely face in a depressed sort of way. She glanced at Feliks Łukasiewicz with a dismissive look and turned to face the open window instead, her eyes tired from crying, showing how much her twin's death affected her both physically and emotionally.

"It has been, like, a few days since Yong Soo-sama met his tragic end." Feliks attempted to look sorry for Eun Soo's plight. "The effect of his Blood is going to expire soon."

Eun Soo glared at Feliks irritably, and with a scornful air, she said, "Please, knock the honorific off. I am a princess no longer."

"Oh, have you, like, given up on life already?" Feliks said with a drawl that made the Blood warrior narrow her beautiful eyes. "But don't you want to take revenge on your Kiku-nii-sama?"

"I have no complaint with my Kiku-nii-sama. He has fought fairly, unlike Yong Soo." Eun Soo lay on the bed and curled up into a tight ball, her back carefully turned to Feliks. "I don't think I have to avenge him. Kiku-nii-sama brought down his revenge to Yong Soo, and it was justified."

"But what will happen to you?" Feliks said with carefully faked concern. Eun Soo frowned.

"It does not matter anymore. When my brother died, I was doomed to die along with him. I am his Blood warrior, after all."

"But do you think that you don't deserve another chance to live for your brother?" Feliks said slyly. "You are twins, and when one dies, the other must continue living for the deceased one. Am I not right?"

"What do you know?" Eun Soo said with an unaffected tone.

"Well, I just know."

"Hmph. And even if I'm interested, how will I survive? As you've said yourself, I have barely a few days left to live."

"As to that…" Feliks smiled widely. "I have come to give you a chance to survive. It's up to you."

Eun Soo stared incredulously at Feliks. "Wh—?"

* * *

><p><em>Today, I experienced a weird dream.<em>

_In my dream, I was thirteen years old, still rather naive and was extremely fond of music. Yao-nii-sama and I were the only ones who enjoyed this kind of recreation, and so, when we, the fearsome Royal siblings, were nothing more than children, he was the brother that was closest to me._

_I dreamed of a high-ceilinged room, large and spacey except for a few furnishings that helped make the surroundings look more beautiful. To my surprise, I recognized this as one of the many rooms in my mother's palace._

_This was the music room where Yao-nii-sama and I used to go and play instruments together. He taught me to love art, and I must say that I've learned well. To this day, I still have a practiced taste for beautiful things._

_In my dream, I was holding a shamisen in one hand and held a pick on the other, strumming the strings carefully with a determined face as Yao-nii-sama, just fifteen years old at the time, watched and listened to me with a slightly stern look that softened as I finished the piece._

_"_Not bad for someone as young as you, Kiku, aru_," he said with a warm fraternal smile. "_You're a natural artist!_"_

_"_This was written for you, onii-sama_," I said with an extremely shy smile as I played nervously with the strings of the instrument. "_I have no intention of letting it be heard or playing it to anybody else except you…_" Yao-nii-sama stopped and looked with a surprised but happy smile at me (also jokingly referred to by my siblings as the "Kiku smile" since he only ever directs that expression to me) as I gripped the shamisen tighter. "_It's made just for you_." I blushed with childlike pride as I made as if to put the shamisen away again in its box, but Yao held up a hand to stop me._

_"_I think it's a nice piece, but I think we can improve it if we had another instrument. Maybe I can play the erhu along with your shamisen? I'm sure it'll be even more beautiful if I actually had a hand in it…_"_

_I felt the ring of deja vu as I opened my mouth to speak. Hasn't this happened to me before? But this was a dream… only a short, sappy dream…_

_"_Ah, _onegaishimasu!" I said with an enthusiastic nod, and Yao-nii-sama smiled at me again and fetched the erhu from a shelf and began tuning it. When he was ready, he settled into his playing stance and held the bow ready over the strings._

_"_Ready, aru?_" Yao skimmed over the musical score that I had apparently laid on the ground earlier in front of us, memorizing all of the features and breathing deeply as he slowly ran the bow across the erhu's strings slowly, making a high wailing sound as he subtly improvised the music._

_I held the pick firmly and began playing along, a calm, gentle smile spreading along my lips as we settled onto a stable pace._

_I felt something wrong at that moment. This dream was too peaceful… for a lucid dream… and I can't stop myself from playing the instrument…_

_Then—_

* * *

><p>"—Nii-sama. <em>Kiku-nii-sama<em>!"

Kiku felt weak and shivery all over as he was jolted awake from his unusually lucid dream. He opened his dark eyes and flinched as his head felt as if someone was taking a drill into his skull.

Xiao Chun was currently employed in staring worriedly at his elder brother's face as Kiku raised himself up slowly, finding out that he had been carried into his room and on the futon laid out on the floor.

"Xiao—?"

"You suddenly fainted while taking your tea," the younger prince immediately replied. "My android is calling the doctor right now."

Kiku finally sat up, and found out that he was wearing just the red nagajuban that he was wearing under the kimono earlier. "Where's my kimono?"

"Herakles hung it there," Xiao Chun pointed at the kimono that was hung carefully on its usual place. "I ordered him to remove it. It just looked so hot. You were breaking out in a sweat all over the place earlier."

"And Alfred—?"

"Ah, he's currently on the other side of the shoji. I told him not to come in or he might wake you up. Actually, that was a really huge understatement, since apparently, he can't control himself when you fainted. He almost tore the house in two."

"Ah, typical," Kiku said with a weak smile, seeing the faithful shadow of his Blood warrior dutifully standing outside through the sheer shoji. "He—"

Xiao Chun looked even more frightened when Kiku suddenly winced in the middle of the sentence and fell back onto the futon in an awkward sideways manner, a splitting headache forcing its way into his head and making him whimper involuntarily in shock.

"Onii-sama?"

Kiku coughed and gasped as he saw specks of blood stain his pillow.

"_Onii-sama_!" Xiao Chun called loudly as Kiku's dark eyes rolled back and he fell into a dead faint again, his brow glistening with fresh drops of sweat as he was forced back into another dream—

* * *

><p><em>"—<em>Kiku-chan. Kiku-chan, where are you?_"_

_The door opened and closed, and I was thirteen years old again and listening to the lilting sound of Yao-nii-sama's erhu as I played along. Its high, sorrowful sound was beautifully executed as my shamisen accompanied it smoothly._

_"_Ah, there you are, Kiku-chan! Oh, and is Yao-nii-sama with you?_"_

_I looked up from my shamisen to gaze innocently at my elder sister who had entered quite suddenly, while still plucking at the strings without rest. I have never been pleased when someone addresses me like a girl. "_Kim-nee-sama, how many times have I told you never to call me by that honorific… Even if you're my onee-sama, you can't…_"_

_"_Ah, sorry, Kiku-chan. But you know, you're just so cute that I can't help it!_"_

_I think my dark eyes were too wide with reproach for comfort. Fourteen-year-old, beautiful, and with her long, dark hair gathered into a ponytail like Yao-nii-sama's, Kim-nee-sama took my face in her hands and kissed my forehead, earning her a blush from me. I have never blushed like that again ever since I turned eighteen._

_But I digress._

_"_Eh, onee-sama!_"_

_Yao-nii-sama looked up from his erhu with an amused look and stopped from his playing altogether when I accidentally dropped my shamisen, Kim-nee-sama having tackled me to the floor with sisterly delight. However, he attempted to take charge of the elder-brotherly act by saying with a serious voice, "_Aiyaa, watch it, aru. We're the three eldest ones. We should be behaving properly, not the other way around. I swear, Kim, that Mei-mei acts much more like a lady unlike you…_"_

_Kim-nee-sama finished squashing me (even though this was a dream, I couldn't help but sigh in relief) and smiled at Yao-nii-sama. "_Aww, Yao-nii-sama, try to be a little less serious…_"_

_Yao's golden eyes looked faintly incredulous. "_Well, I'm now telling you to try being a little more serious, actually, aru…_"_

_I promptly sat up again when Kim-nee-sama had finally released me, and tried to straighten my white kimono while the two elders bickered. I sighed, and looked down as I pushed the noises from my mind…_

* * *

><p>"Keep your promise, Monsieur Feliks," Michelle said with a scowl as she stood up from the operating table and examined her repairs. "Please help me me rescue Mademoiselle from the Vampire. I found it difficult to do it on my own."<p>

"Don't worry, I'll, like, keep my promise," Feliks said with a smile. "I'll send Eun Soo with you as a present to Kim-sama. She may like this new addition to her army."

* * *

><p>"I'll keep in touch."<p>

The young Finnish doctor bowed to Herakles and went on his way, his cap bobbing pleasantly as he walked away from the house.

"The doctor said that there's nothing physically wrong with him," Antonio said with a sigh.

Alfred merely scowled, his eyes still an intense red as he shivered from tension. He had accidentally crushed his glasses into crystalline powder hours ago because of the extreme fury at Kiku's unexplainable condition, but he paid no heed—he had found that his eyesight was as sharp as Antonio's, if not more so, whenever they change color.

"Anyways, was the señorito this weak normally? I mean, he also caught a cold before," Antonio said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Was it because he doesn't eat much of anything? Like, meat?"

Alfred glared at Antonio, making the usually-fearless Werewolf flinch at the look the Blood warrior gave him. "He does neglect to eat anything else than a lot of vegetables and fish, but that's not the point, is it?"

"Eh, I see—" Antonio broke off his answer and looked out of the window suddenly, making Alfred tense. "Oy, did you hear that—?"

"What?"

"I first thought that it was just a TV in the house or something, but…" Antonio cocked his head thoughtfully as he listened. "Sounds like something you'd hear out of a Chinese movie…"

"I don't hear anything, Antonio," Alfred said in a flat voice.

"You don't?" Antonio looked at Alfred curiously. "Then what makes it…?"

* * *

><p>"This is <em>ridiculous<em>, Xiao," Kiku said with a little frown that made his dark eyes narrow. "I didn't need Tino-san to tell me that there's nothing wrong with me, after all."

"But onii-sama…" Xiao Chun looked a bit cross at Kiku's statement, but anxiety overcame his face as he watched his elder brother take a dainty sip of the green tea that a worried Matthew placed in front of him.

"I'm fine, Matthew-san," Kiku said, waving the blond's questions off with an indulgent smile as he clutched the mug with his free hand as if drawing comfort from the warmth. "And Xiao, I'm sorry about admonishing you, but I repeat: Don't worry about me. Perhaps I'm just a little tired… or something." He paused to close his eyes wearily and propped an arm on the table to lean on it with a sigh. "Perhaps it would be better to just rest it off for a few days…"

That was when the headache struck again, and he closed his eyes in irritation, wondering when will all of this finally stop—

* * *

><p><em>"<em>What was that piece that you're playing just now?_" Kim-nee-sama asked me with a smile as I strolled with her in the garden. Okaa-sama's garden is beautiful, with all of our flowers planted in neat rows all around. I reached out and touched the petals of a white chrysanthemum. Dew still glistened on it as I drew my fingers away._

_"_Kiku-chan?_"_

_"_Uh, it's just…_" I blushed and stuttered, and Kim-nee-sama looked as if she was highly amused. I was faintly confused with her expression since I detected something like blood thirst in it. I've never seen her display an emotion like that before. Or maybe I had and just overlooked it? I'm confused. Maybe this dream was—_

_"_Ahh, so cute~_" Kim-nee-sama suddenly sang out, still with the chilling smile, as she pulled at my ears playfully. I blushed even deeper and suffered Kim-nee-sama her kiss on my cheek without any complaint._

_"_But don't you think that that was a bit too forward of you?_" Kim-nee-sama added quite abruptly, taking on a very different tone and her chilling smile transforming into a full-out smirk that scared the thirteen-year-old me. "_That was thoughtful to make a piece for him… But wasn't it just rude, to give him an unfinished piece that can still be improved upon?_"_

_I was a bit shocked at the statement as onee-sama went on._

_"_To dedicate a piece to him that you haven't still given your whole heart to…_" Her smirk grew wider. "_Wasn't it just shameful?_"_

_"_B-But— Kim-nee-sama, I— This piece is… finished already—_"_

_"_Ah, you still don't understand?_" Kim-nee-sama's beautiful, hypnotic dark eyes locked with mine. "_Yao-nii-sama doesn't deserve any of this farce. Don't you think so…?_"_

_"_I-I—_" I shivered as the tense atmosphere finally turned into a cold one. "_B-But—_"_

_Snow started to fall._

_"_You should improve it, right? And then Yao-nii-sama will truly appreciate it then…_" Kim-nee-sama pulled at my ears again with a terrifyingly empty smile, like a Noh mask, as I stood and shook all over with an uncontrollable trembling. I had never been as scared as I am now. "_I'm sure he'll patiently wait for you…_"_

_And then, the _pain_ started—_

_I was screaming… asking myself…_

_**What have I done to deserve this?**_

* * *

><p>Kiku's dark eyes snapped open, drops of sweat dripping from his chin and his hands trembling of their own accord. He glanced at Xiao Chun, who in turn looked alarmed at his brother's sudden change of expression.<p>

Kiku winced slightly as another headache struck, but his posture was perfect as he stood up, sheer pride preventing him from keeling over from pain.

"I'm going to rest," he finally said, his dark eyes staring directly at Xiao Chun's as if daring him to follow, and the younger prince snorted and sat back, defeated.

"All right," Xiao Chun said with a hard look rarely seen on his stoic face. "But I'm staying over for the night. You're clearly _not_ well, nii-sama."

"Do as you please," Kiku said with a displeased scowl, and went out onto the hallway, Herakles trailing after him with his usual sleepiness. The Royal siblings are all as equally stubborn when they chose, Xiao Chun noted with a grimace as usually-passive Kiku strode out with an irritated look. Which was highly unusual for him.

"Herakles!" Xiao Chun suddenly called out, making the android turn. "Watch over him and call me if something much worse happens."

Herakles nodded blankly, and went on his way. Xiao Chun sighed and looked over at his own android.

"I'm worried, Sadık."

"As if that wasn't obvious enough."

"_God_, Sadık… One of these days I'm really going to deprogram you or something while you're off charging…"

* * *

><p>Kiku walked through the hallways in a dazed manner, Herakles following behind him as he mused aloud.<p>

"Why did I dream about that?" he said with a grimace as he felt the vestiges of the headache start another one. "Kim-nee-sama… I certainly remember that memory about the piece that I've made Yao-nii-sama… But that conversation in the garden… I'm sure that that hasn't happened before!" He paused as he drew a handkerchief from his obi and wiped at his pale face. "Who dared mess with my memories?" He looked back at Herakles, and the android saw that Kiku's eyes were sliding out of focus. "Ah, I'm even convinced now that that fake memory had really happened… Was that someone rewriting my _memory_…?"

"Señorito?"

Kiku turned back to see Antonio, who had been humming lightheartedly and looking at him with a relieved grin.

"I'm glad you've finally recovered!" the Werewolf exclaimed, as Kiku's eyes narrowed and connected with his. "That's good news!"

"Antonio," Kiku said suddenly, his dark eyes warily studying Antonio's face. "What were you humming just now?"

"Huh?" Antonio looked confused. "Is it weird for a Werewolf to hum?"

"That's not what I meant." Kiku's eyes were still narrowed, and Antonio was surprised at his deadly expression. "That tune. How come you know of it?"

"Eh?"

Kiku lifted his lip in a perfect imitation of Arthur Kirkland's snarl. "No one should know of that piece… except for my Yao-nii-sama and I!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Kesesesese<em>!"

"I would highly appreciate it if you'll just let me play in peace, Gilbert."

"Oh, just shut up and continue."

The old clock tower that stood in the middle of the forest was not left alone tonight. Inside it, two Vampires are weaving a curse that spelled out death for the unlucky receiver. Orbs of light flew around, the pipe organ in the middle of the room sucking them in as it produced the music that was bothering Antonio's ears earlier.

"So this is the piece that thirteen-year-old Kiku-sama had written for Yao-sama," the Vampire currently sitting at the huge organ was saying, a bored look on his face as he played a song that sounded faintly like a Chinese tune. "A nice composition, but in the end, it is just child's play… Far from being a masterpiece…"

Gilbert Beilschmidt just grinned as he watched and stood at the Vampire's shoulder.

"Well, I think you understand that I'm just doing this because you promised me that the pay will be huge," the Vampire continued.

Gilbert burst into a laugh. "Come on, Roderich… I'm not going to turn back on my awesome word!"

Roderich Edelstein sighed, and furrowed his brow as he concentrated on the keys. "This is a rare piano… How did you acquire this? Transforming spirits into beautiful music… A catch, if I do say so myself…"

"Actually, I just borrowed it… Sort of," Gilbert said with a faint sheepish look.

Roderich sighed. "I thought so. So this is actually _Ludwig's_?"

"Yeah." Gilbert chuckled as Roderich glared at him in exasperation. "C'mon, the guy's on a hunt or something… He's aiming for Yao of the White Peony and that's going to take months! Yao is the oldest of the bunch, after all… I think _bruder_ struck a deal with the White Lotus guy or something."

Roderich looked confused. "A deal with the Royalty?"

Gilbert laughed. "Kesesese, yeah, but he's not just a pretty pet like Kirkland. My _bruder_'s actually a sly one… Maybe he'll kill the White Lotus guy after completing the deal? Dunno. But that's the way of the Vampire—brains before brawn, unlike those filthy dogs…"

Another shadow entered the room, and Gilbert turned to look into the drawn face of Francis Bonnefoy, who had just joined them.

"Oh, opportune time!" Gilbert cackled, and grinned at the blond. "Didn't you make that android look-alike of my _bruder_? That one that you sent after Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum?"

"_Oui_," Francis sighed. "It was a good model, but I think I haven't captured the real Ludwig's personality in la perfection…"

"Well, I don't blame you… Hell, even the awesome me can't understand how his mind worked." Gilbert guffawed. "What do you think will my _bruder_ think once he knows of that?"

Roderich smiled indulgently at the two. "_Gut, gut, gut_… this is getting harder for me to understand…"

* * *

><p>However, in the house of His Highness, Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum, there was only silence and gloom as the condition of the master of the house continued to worsen. Kiku was in his room with Herakles, his patience running thin as he was forced to confine himself to his futon while the others talked about what best to do.<p>

In the main sitting room, Arthur Kirkland was sprawled on the tatami-covered floor beside the low table and was browsing some large leather-bound tomes while muttering to himself. Alfred, who was watching Xiao Chun and Sadık converse in low tones, was quite surprised that Arthur had managed to carry all of them in the house like that, but didn't say anything, merely finishing his butter cake off and laying the fork down on its saucer beside the piles of books. He did notice that Matthew put a bit too much maple syrup on it, though.

"Well, I think I know what spell is affecting Kiku-sama right now." Arthur hummed slyly as he stared at the page that was immersing him in the past few minutes. "I think it's rather connected to those sounds that the dog is hearing and the souls that you have encountered in that ghost ship that you've told me about in the past. That's where the Mermaid was left locked up, right?"

Antonio was glaring at Arthur at that yet another slight on his nature, so Alfred decided to set things straight. "Yep. What of it?"

"Well, don't you think that it's puzzling that souls are gathering there all alone?" Arthur said with the fork taken from his butter cake pointed up as he rose to a kneeling position. "All spirits are aimless. Thus, they have to be collected by someone if they are to gather in one specific place."

"So?" Antonio snapped. "What's that got to do with the sounds that I hear?"

"Well, the spirits are what compose point number one." Arthur pointed to the page that he had been reading earlier, and Alfred saw a picture of a huge pipe organ. "Point number two: The sound that you hear isn't heard by anyone else in this house. That means that it comes from an instrument that produces sounds whose frequencies are well beyond the hearing of humans. And this"—he points to the picture of the organ—"responds to those conditions. It uses spirits and converts them into music, and it uses a frequency of about twenty thousand hertz, which is barely the audible range of humans."

"Any more?" Xiao Chun asked seriously, his brows furrowed.

Arthur smiled at the prince. "It seems that this instrument is used to curse your beloved brother, Xiao Chun-sama."

Xiao Chun frowned. "What do you mean by that, Arthur Kirkland?"

"Kiku-sama's headaches are caused by this," Arthur replied, green eyes darkening. "Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum is the only one who is experiencing the curse. That is because—"

"It responds to the memory of the target. Ne?"

Shocked faces turned to the open shoji, where Herakles stood with Kiku slung haphazardly on his back, the prince's ghastly pale face contrasting sharply with his brilliantly patterned red nagajuban.

"Onii-sama!" Xiao Chun burst out, immediately standing up with wide dark eyes. "I told you to stay in your room!"

"I'm _older_," Kiku said with his trademark sarcastic smile, making Alfred grin widely. Kiku was just too short to take on seriously... until he holds a knife on your throat.

"Well, it is exactly as what you've said, Kiku-sama," Arthur said with an impressed smile, watching Herakles as the android deposited Kiku precariously on the couch beside Antonio. "Well, for the benefit of everyone else, I'll explain.

"The sound of the organ may be all over the city, but the actual curse is accomplished by the spirits that produce it. If the perpetrator had played a piece that everyone knew, then many people would have responded to it, and the attack would be split between all of them. But if the culprit chose a piece that only their target knows…" Arthur smiled wryly. "The energy will concentrate on him and may result to death. Actually, the choice of music was the masterstroke here."

"Ah," Kiku said softly. "But it also allows me to pinpoint who the real culprit is." _That is, the only person who has heard this piece aside from me and Yao-nii-sama..._

"Ha!" Antonio got up from the couch with a smile to let Kiku occupy the rest of the space. "Then there's no point dallying over it. We just need to follow the sound!"

"That's right," Kiku said with a faint smile.

Arthur smiled. "Shall we go?"

However, Kiku held up a hand to stop them and muttered, "Alfred, where are your glasses?"

Alfred gave a start. "Er, I—broke them…"

"And that's just putting it _mildly_," Arthur said with a roll of his vibrant green eyes. Alfred blushed.

Kiku scowled and, with a quickness that betrayed his slowly expanding abilities, reached for the fork lying innocently on the abandoned saucer on the table and stabbed his wrist, brilliant red Blood streaming down his pale skin as Arthur's green eyes narrowed dangerously at the mouthwatering smell of Royal Blood. However, Alfred, sensing the immediate danger of the Vampire losing control, was already at Kiku's side, his eyes bursting out of their clueless blue to their dangerous red as he wrestled the offending piece of cutlery out of Kiku's frail hands and glared at Arthur (the Vampire was staring longingly at the redness of the Blood, and would have no doubt pounced on Kiku if Antonio hadn't kept a vice grip on his arm) before turning anxious (and still-angry) eyes to his master.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing!"

Kiku wordlessly poked Alfred between the eyes with his free hand. "There. Can you see better now?"

"Er, this is indeed much better, but… Hey, that's not the point!" Alfred sputtered a bit before regaining his composure. "Harming yourself just to trigger my fucking sight! How much more reckless can you get!"

Kiku waved him off with a bored face.

"You should just save some of that for me, love," Arthur catcalled at Kiku as Xiao Chun bound the prince's wrist tightly with a highly disapproving expression.

Kiku smiled at Arthur sarcastically. "Alfred, stop dawdling on your task. Hera-chan, accompany them, won't you?"

"I'll return to you on this, Kiku!" Alfred snapped as they went out of the room. Kiku laughed.

"Ah, really… Later then." Kiku's smile was bewitchingly mischievous as he waved scornfully at Alfred's annoyed face. "Enjoy the hunt, if you may… And Antonio-san, I'm counting on your abilities!"

"You are?" Antonio smiled, canines lengthening. "You sound so weak, señorito!"

Kiku let himself fall on the couch when the three finally left the room, his eyes drooping shut immediately, and Xiao Chun let out a hiss when the door slid shut behind the three. "Weak? Ah, that Werewolf doesn't understand… My onii-sama isn't weak. He's just… _embarrassed_."

Sadık glanced blankly at Kiku's peaceful face. "He is?"

"Well," Xiao Chun smiled as Kiku's eyelashes fluttered slightly before settling back again, "Let's just say that you had composed a piece that you've dedicated to a certain person, and that you had wished that he and only he will be able to hear it. Now, wouldn't you be embarrassed if that same piece will play all over the city for everyone to hear, even if the frequency is too low for them to hear?"

* * *

><p><em>When I opened my eyes, I saw… me. Standing on the edge of a windy ravine.<em>

_Yes, me. As in, he looked like me from head to toe. He was wearing a simple white yukata, though, and he looked considerably younger and a bit thinner than me._

_That's when it hit me. He must be—?_

_"_Kiku-san?_"_

_He had turned toward me with a light smile, and his expression was so singularly sweet that I felt myself stiffen all over with suspicion. Maybe I was getting a bit crazy due to my past dreams, but I want to hide myself from him. Such insightful dark eyes!_

_"_Where are we?_" was my first question, and he laughed lightly at my confused tone._

_"_Aren't you going to ask me first about my identity?_" he asked with bright eyes. I envied him for it._

_"_I don't need to ask you,_" I retorted. "_I am you._"_

_"_Yes and no!_" pseudo-Kiku said with a pout. It felt weird seeing him look like that, since that childish mannerism had been erased from me ages ago. "_I am you, but you are not me. Maybe I should make that perfectly clear._"_

_"_Explain yourself!_" I immediately snapped, and his smile widened at my show of temper._

_"_You do not get angry very easily when you are in reality, do you?_" he said with a serious look. "_But in a dream, you let your temper get the better of you and let it loose. Isn't that kind of ironic?_"_

_"_Answer my question,_" I merely told him. "_And stop speaking in metaphors._"_

_"_Well, maybe I should explain after all,_" he sighed. "_But let's just say that I'm just a part of you, so I can be you but you cannot be me. I am just a part of your whole._"_

_"_I don't get you,_" I said slowly, and he sighed again._

_"_I don't expect you to understand me the first time,_" he said earnestly. "_But you do know the symbol of the yin-yang, right?_"_

_"_Yes,_" I replied. "_Black and white intertwined together. Black with a spot of white. White with a spot of black._"_

_"_Well, everyone has a yin-yang inside of them,_" he explained, "_Normally, the yin and the yang in a person are always present together, but you are an example of a person who cannot be both. You must be only white, or only black, or else not at all._"_

_I merely stared at him. I cannot look into his eyes, though._

_"_In the past, you are white,_" he added. "_However, you are not purely good. You have a spot of black. You are capable of hurting others. In the present, you are still white. But the black spot is getting bigger._"_

_"_And I thought I was crazy because I decided to talk with you,_" I said with a smile._

_"_Aren't we all mad inside?_" he asked me. "_No one is sane without being insane first._"_

_"_I kind of understand now,_" I sighed. "_So you're my black spot?_"_

_"_Maybe,_" he answered vaguely._

_"_So… what am I doing here?_" I wasn't entirely satisfied with his answer, so I just changed the topic. "_What is this place?_"_

_"_Your mind,_" he said bluntly._

_"_So my mind… is the ravine,_" I said sarcastically._

_"_And the sky, and the grass, and the flowers and the wind,_" he said in a singsong voice. I forgot how often I did that to Yao-nii-sama just to annoy._

_"_Stop messing with me,_" I said in a much sharper tone._

_"_It's true,_" he said. "_However, the ravine's shallower than before. It's much deeper before when Yong Soo was still alive._"_

_"_Ah,_" I said with a confused air. I'm afraid I still didn't understand him when he talks._

_"_Anyways, time is precious,_" he said with a laugh, as he brought his hands together like a Chinese. "_I'm going to help you with your present situation. You're under a curse, right?_"_

_"_Yes,_" I answered him._

_"_Then this is my advice,_" he said. "_Overwrite your memory._"_

_I tilted my head. "_I understand the logic, but… how?_"_

_"_You're one of the smartest strategists among your siblings, Kiku-san,_" he told me. "_You'll figure it out._"_

_I nodded slowly._

_"_Oh, you have to return soon, but before that, I have to tell you something,_" he said with round eyes. I immediately distrusted that look. That was my expression whenever I am up to something in the past._

_"_What?_"_

_"_Three things,"_ he said. "_First: Beware of cherry blossoms that bloom in the snow._"_

_I narrowed my eyes._

_"_Second: Don't go near lotuses. They're extremely poisonous._"_

_"_Huh. A reference to flowers again?_"_

_"_Yes, isn't it?_" he said with a smile. "_And the last is intended for Alfred-kun._"_

_I met his eyes. They were still innocent, like a child's. Big and warm and naive. But cold and mature also, in a way._

_"_Please tell him that I'll get in touch with him soon._"_

_"_What?_"_

_"_You heard me, Kiku-san._"_

_". . ."_

_Of all people, he chose to talk to the densest..._

_"_Wait, I want to ask you something._"_

_"_Hm?_"_

_"_Are you—?_"_

_"_Don't I wish that I was?_"_

* * *

><p>"—Onii-sama?"<p>

Kiku shot up from his lying position and sat up with wide eyes, his whole body trembling slightly from the coldness of the wind streaming through the open window. His face was so pale and his eyes so wide that Xiao, who had taken to kneeling beside the couch to wipe Kiku's face with the wet cloth in his hand, was immediately alarmed.

Without another word, and even though his head felt as if it was splitting open, Kiku stood up unsteadily and staggered out the room, down the hallway, and finally into the room where he kept the thing that he never would have thought he'd touch again.

"Onii-sama!" Xiao Chun had followed him rather confusedly, but as soon as Kiku had stopped to enter the room, his face began showing signs of extreme annoyance at his brother's stubbornness.

"Li Xiao Chun!" Kiku snapped at Xiao Chun, a fire in his dark eyes. "I will be very obliged to you—if you'll just shut up and let me!"

The younger prince looked doubtful, but stayed silent.

Kiku took out the shamisen pieces from its box and tuned and assembled it carefully, making Xiao Chun's eyes widen in surprise at what he supposed was another one of his brother's crazy whims.  
>"Kiku-nii-sama…"<p>

"This shamisen is actually made with cat skin… Don't tell Hera-chan!" And with a smile, albeit his fingers are trembling slightly, Kiku began to play the accursed piece, the music monotonous as he struggled to fight fire with fire.

* * *

><p>"This curse will be complete by dawn," Roderich Edelstein declared tersely, nimble fingers still weaving music fluidly as the night progressed. Gilbert Beilschmidt looked pleased, his naturally violet-red eyes narrowed with Blood thirst as he watched.<p>

"This piece, which Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum had dedicated to his brother, shall become a requiem for him, by the hands of the one who drank of his sister's Blood," he said quietly, long fangs deadly in the moonlight. "You shall rejoin the Pale Sharon, O _Chrysantheme_! And I meant that as a _lifelong_ sentence!"

* * *

><p>"I haven't touched the shamisen ever since I've played this together with Yao-nii-sama," Kiku said softly as he ran the pick through the strings gently. "The strings are almost brand-new."<p>

Xiao Chun looked faintly disturbed as Kiku continued his playing, the haunting melody seeming to calm Kiku's frayed nerves.

Meanwhile, that same melody was making Antonio more jittery as they approached the edge of the forest wherein the old tower stood in the middle, its gothic-style structure appealing to their sense of terror.

"It's so loud! It's cracking my head open!"

Arthur Kirkland smirked at Antonio's discomfort. "Oh, so it's coming from that tower. How typical. It reeks of Beilschmidt grandeur."

Alfred's eyes were a dull red as he watched the tower hungrily. "Let's go!"

Antonio snarled. "Not so fast, Alfredo!"

"What is it!" the Blood warrior hissed. Arthur almost smiled.

"Can't you smell them?" Antonio gestured to the darkness of the trees in front of them, and Alfred could now swear that he could hear a very faint rustle of leaves.

"Lower-class Vampires," Arthur Kirkland said with a roll of his proud green eyes. "Ah, shall we teach them a lesson?"

* * *

><p>The stealthy shadow crept on, the dark trunks of the trees concealing its owner as the Vampire traversed the wood silently. Clad in a black cloak whose hood covered his light blond hair, the real Ludwig Beilschmidt scowled, his pupils dilating, in their clear blue irises, as he smelled three different scents—one so delicious that he knew it to be Royalty, one so outdoorsy and altogether repellent that it couldn't be anything else but a Werewolf, one that smelled faintly of the sea, and one that he can't discern, a smell so foreign that he knew it was from someone that wasn't of this world.<p>

He was nearing his prey. And a mile afar, where Yao of the White Peony set up camp for the night, Feliciano Vargas abruptly looked up at the sickly fragrance that suddenly stung his nostrils, his usually cheerful amber eyes darting cautiously through the spaces between tree trunks as he stood watch for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, don't squeal. Germany plus Italy equals GerIta. I know that. Lulz. **

** Anyways, since most of you guys were upset about Ludwig's death, I messed up the plot a bit to bring him back. Satisfied? :))**

** And PHEW, that was a long break! I'm sorry people!**

** Moreover, after I post the twentieth chapter up, I'm going to diverge a little from the main plot, and weave it to something a bit different from PR but still PR-themed. Okay with you?**

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Gilbert continues to weave the curse that has put Kiku's life in the line. Antonio, Arthur and Alfred must stop the Vampire, although something that isn't precedented might happen…

Meanwhile, Kiku's youngest sister, Mei of the Plum Blossom, finally appears, and proves that young age is not synonymous to naïveté… And along with her debut, another unknown sibling that surfaces after a long period of 'hibernation'…


	20. Melody

_**Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?**_  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>Eun Soo of the White Magnolia made an agreement with Feliks about her life. Meanwhile, Gilbert Beilschmidt planned a mischief, that might kill Kiku once Alfred fails to do his mission to catch the said Vampire…<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, and finally, the appearance of Mei! Plus, an OC country… along with their androids, of course… and a Genderbent!Macau

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Summary<strong>: Gilbert continues to weave the curse that has put Kiku's life on the line. Antonio, Arthur and Alfred must stop the Vampire, although something that isn't precedented might happen...

Meanwhile, Kiku's youngest sister, Mei of the Plum Blossom, finally appears, and proves that young age is not synonymous to naïveté… And along with her debut, another unknown sibling that surfaces after a long period of 'hibernation'…

**Disclaimer**: I will never, ever own APH, guys and gals! All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nineteenth Drop of Blood<strong>__:_  
><em>Melody<em>

* * *

><p>"This piece, which Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum had dedicated to his brother, shall become a requiem for him, by the hands of the one who drank of his sister's Blood," Gilbert Beilschmidt declared, long fangs gleaming with a deadly intent in the moonlight. "You shall rejoin the Pale Sharon, O <em>Chrysantheme<em>! And I meant that as a _lifelong _sentence!"

* * *

><p>"I haven't touched the shamisen ever since I've played this together with Yao-nii-sama," Kiku said softly as he ran the pick through the strings gently. "The strings are almost brand-new."<p>

Xiao Chun looked faintly disturbed as Kiku continued his playing, the haunting melody seeming to calm Kiku's frayed nerves.

Meanwhile, that same melody was making Antonio more jittery as they approached the edge of the forest wherein the old tower stood in the middle, its gothic-style structure appealing to their sense of terror. Alfred watched with something like fascination as countless orbs of light flew across the sky toward the tower, wherein they went through the walls as if being absorbed by the building itself.

"It's so loud! It's cracking my head open!"

Arthur Kirkland smirked at Antonio's discomfort. "Oh, so it's coming from that tower. How typical. It reeks of Beilschmidt grandeur."

Alfred's eyes were a dull red as he watched the tower hungrily. "Let's go!"

Antonio snarled. "Not so fast, Alfredo!"

"What is it!" the Blood warrior hissed. Arthur almost smiled.

"Can't you smell them?" Antonio gestured to the darkness of the trees in front of them, and Alfred could now swear that he could hear a very faint rustle of leaves.

"Lower-class Vampires," Arthur Kirkland said with a roll of his proud green eyes.

"I guess we have no choice then!" Antonio roared, undergoing his transformation, while Alfred swished the blade of his upside-down poleax back and forth like a sinister pendulum.

And with a shriek, wave upon wave of the mindless Vampires swarmed among them, prompting Herakles to take action with a practiced swipe of the tree trunk that he had uprooted from the ground just a minute ago. Antonio and Alfred immediately switched into their battle stances, while Arthur just strode away into the very edge of the forest before turning back to look at Antonio's dumbfounded face.

"You can fight them all," Arthur said with a smile at Antonio's fury. "Good luck… I'll just meet you there. It's going to be more efficient for us that way… I do admit that I'm no great shakes at combating face to face…"

And after winking at Alfred once, Arthur disappeared into the shadows of the trees, leaving a flustered Antonio behind.

"Let's make this quick," Alfred said quietly. Antonio saw that the American was looking at the distant tower with something akin to hunger. "I can smell the scent of that Beilschmidt hanging around…"

"_Dios mio_, so now it's confirmed…" Antonio murmured, olive green eyes darting at each of the Vampires.

* * *

><p>"Oh, there's a face that I haven't seen for a very long time!" Arthur said with a purr at the end of his sentence as he came face to face with Francis Bonnefoy, who looked as if he had been shocked with an electric current when he saw Arthur's face.<p>

"So it's true," Francis said with a low chuckle that was meant to mask the conflict beneath those narrowed blue eyes. "You're now living under the wing of the Golden Chrysanthemum."

"Ah, but aren't you more despicable, French frog?" Arthur hissed, green eyes beginning to show concentric rings around his pupils. "You're a friend of that Beilschmidt, yet you have the gall to show your face and make small talk with me!"

"_Touché, mon cher Arthur_." Francis sighed melodramatically, his long blond hair streaming behind him lending an elegant effect.

"I have nothing more to say to you," Arthur bit out, and with just a smooth stride was past Francis's shoulder, but the Frenchman nimbly held out a hand and grabbed his arm, effectively making Arthur stop in his tracks.  
>"You shouldn't go to Gilbert. He is… <em>dangereuse<em>."

"I must." Arthur did not smile this time, making Francis frown at the serious intent of the other.

"Even if he is the great duke Beilschmidt?"

"Ah…" Arthur tilted his head. "I've figured out ages ago that it's Beilschmidt…"

Francis smiled. "I'm surprised, Arthur Kirkland, pureblooded Vampire, born to two Vampire parents…" he muttered quietly, drawing his dark blue cloak around him more closely as if for warmth. "You are a royalty amongst Vampires themselves, yet you submit yourself to a prince of the despised yet desired Royal Family and become his personal lapdog, to follow at his every whim and call? You…"

Arthur didn't even turn to grace Francis with a look, instead continuing to walk swiftly away. "It's what's necessary to live here."

Francis sighed, the sound produced a cross between a laugh and a sigh. "Hold it, Arthur," he said silkily, making Arthur pause from his strides. "Of course, I haven't forgotten my debt towards you too… Rest assured that I had fought in your side, too, in my own way."

Arthur just chuckled, and went on his way without being further stopped by Francis, who looked wistfully after him.

* * *

><p>The cat-skin shamisen continued to produce the simple tune, Kiku's dark eyes narrowed with concentration as he plucked away at the three strings. Xiao Chun watched anxiously as the melody ceased and was repeated again for the fifth time, Kiku's untiring hands deviating the tune slightly from the original piece.<p>

"Every time he repeats the tune, it changes little by little," Xiao Chun said quietly, letting out an unconscious breathy gasp as Kiku's sweaty fingers almost let the thin plectrum slip from them. "It's almost as if he's rewriting an incomplete composition and making it into a complete one…!"

"Overwriting his memory," Sadık supplied. Xiao Chun snickered lightly.

"You make him sound like a memory chip," the prince said with a chuckle. Then he reverted to his usual stoic expression. "But it's already way past midnight… There's not enough time…!"

Meanwhile, completely ignorant of the other two's conversation, Kiku continued to play and revise the music, determined to stop the torture that threatened to plague his memories.

* * *

><p>Antonio, Alfred and Herakles stood heavy-eyed in front of the tower, having fought their way through the Vampire crowd. The silence of the darkness perturbed both the Werewolf and the Blood warrior, and Herakles looked rather wary also as he grasped the tree trunk in his arms with guarded green eyes.<p>

"Something's… wrong…" Antonio raised his head to sniff at the air. "All of the Vampires stopped rushing out…"

"Is it close to dawn?" Alfred inquired suspiciously, his eyes brightening as the tower finally stood undefended.

"No…" Herakles surprised the two by answering involuntarily. "Time is precisely… two hours… ten minutes… and forty-eight seconds… left… before dawn…"

Alfred sighed, the amusement at hearing Herakles answer making his eyes blend into the gray area between blue and red—violet. "Is that so?"

"You look a bit more like what's-his-name…" Antonio chuckled. Alfred grimaced.

"It's Matthew you're talking about, right?"

"Sorry. Kept forgetting his name." Antonio looked up at the sky. "Anyway, I just realized what the hell's missing aside from the bloodsuckers…"

"What?"

"Those funny orbs of light!" Antonio said with a snap, brows furrowing. "They're gone!"

"Which… means…" Alfred snarled through his teeth as the door to the tower opened, and Gilbert Beilschmidt himself stepped out, in all his silver-and-red glory. A falcon sat upon his shoulder.

"That's right," he said snidely. "I successfully finished the curse… Just now, the curse has been made complete!"

Alfred's eyes narrowed and he bowed his head as Herakles looked blankly at the Vampire, his sleepy green eyes suddenly turning into red concentric ones. Antonio watched with an unpleasant shock as he realized that Herakles had entered self-destruct mode.

"Oh, _Santa Madre de Dios_…"

* * *

><p>Xiao Chun gasped as Kiku dropped the shamisen, his frail body falling forwards and threatening to hit the tatami mats until Sadık stepped forward quickly and snagged him from the fall, Xiao Chun's eyes going blank as he giddily watched his brother's body go limp in the android's arms.<p>

"Sadık…! _What_—?"

Sadık wordlessly carried the older prince back into the master's bedroom, where he promptly laid Kiku on the futon and laid the covers on his body. Xiao Chun's eyes were still very big as he regarded his android's ministrations.

"What's going on, Sadık!"

"I do not know," Sadık replied with a serious look at the younger prince, "but somehow, he is…"

* * *

><p>"Alive."<p>

"What?"

Alfred had raised his head up, and Antonio saw something that he rarely saw in Alfred's eyes whenever his eyes change color: sheer relief. "I do not know how… but I know for sure. Kiku overcame it. He overcame your stupid curse. You fucking _messed_ up—he's alive!"

_Beep_.

Herakles snapped out of it, his eyes turning back into his dull green ones again as he comprehended the statement.

Gilbert's violet-red eyes narrowed and he prepared to lunge at Alfred, making Antonio snarl and assume a battle stance along with Alfred. "_Dummkopf_… you should just shut your mouth… and that's the awesomest advice that you'll _ever_ get in three lifetimes!"

"He's coming!" Antonio roared, but before Gilbert could actually attack, a smug voice spoke up—

"Are you sure you want to just hang around here?"

All of them looked up to see Arthur Kirkland sitting up high on one of the rafters of the roof, a wide smile showing off his long fangs as he put a hand on his messy blond hair for dramatic effect.

"Aren't you worried about the princess that you've left in your castle? You're a Blood warrior, aren't you?" Arthur's green eyes laughed mockingly at the duke's red ones as they connected. "You should hurry then! For if your captive runs away… that would be the end of you!"

"The awesome me, a Blood warrior? How ridiculous!" Gilbert scoffed, his eyes closing in on Arthur. "Are you saying that I died once as a Vampire? The idea alone makes me laugh!"

"Well, let's find out after a few days, shall we?" Arthur said venomously, making Antonio grin.

* * *

><p>"Kim-nee-sama, I came to pick you up."<p>

"_Cảm ơn bạn_, dear little sister."

"It was nothing. You called on me to help, and I just responded to your call.

In the dimly lighted room in the depths of the Beilschmidts' castle, four people stood—one, apparently the oldest, a girl with long hair tied into a neat ponytail that reached down to her back and wearing a white Áo dài, the next, Eun Soo of the White Magnolia, wearing a pale pink hanbok whose lavender skirt reached her feet, and another, the girl who spoke first, also with long hair but with a stray curly strand upon the left side of her face, wearing a black qipao. The last person was quite unnoticeable, a tall young man with light skin that was still a bit darker in tone to his sisters', but still with the same wonderfully dark eyes and hair. On his shoulder perched an eagle, and he was holding a leaf to his lips quite dolefully.

"Anyways, I was shocked to hear that Yong Soo had died and that you have become his Blood warrior," the oldest girl, presumably Kim of the Red Lotus, was saying with a motherly tone, as Eun Soo knelt in front of her with a sorrowful expression on her face. "Don't be afraid, little one… I shall accept you as my Blood warrior. I'm afraid Sheru-chan isn't enough to keep my enemies at bay, and I'm sure you'll come in just handy…"

Eun Soo's dark eyes brightened as Kim bit into her right index finger and held it out for Eun Soo to taste the fiery drops.

"Kamsamnida, onee-sama!" she said, her hands clasping together automatically.

"No, dear, do not thank me yet!" Kim said with a smile that the youngest girl immediately distrusted, even though she masked the expression quickly under her chilly facade. "And Mei, I repeat—how lovely to see you again!"

Mei of the Plum Blossom, the youngest of the Royal siblings, was barely a young woman, but she looked mature enough for her age as she bowed prettily to her elder sister. "Likewise, Kim-nee-sama."

"Any news aside from Yong Soo's death?" Kim said with a sigh.

"Annan and Bataar had exchanged blows in another world," Mei immediately supplied. "After Yong Soo's death, I had traveled to that universe and learned of it from Felipe-nii-sama here."

The young man, formerly unnoticed, gave Kim a slight smile as the elder glanced at him in surprise. "Kim-nee-sama."

"Felipe!" Kim's look of surprise turned into one of sisterly delight. "I take it that you've joined an alliance with Annan?"

Felipe nodded. "Yes. I was there when Bataar decapitated him in battle. If only Annan's and my Blood powers were available at the moment, we would have crushed him."

"But that's forbidden, little brother," Kim chided him gently.

Felipe scowled slightly. "That may be true, but after seeing Annan defeated right before my eyes… I was lucky I escaped alive with Mei-chan's help!"

Mei still hadn't removed her cold expression. "Don't mention it. We're still siblings amid this war." She glanced at Kim, who was looking as if an idea struck her.

Kim smiled shrewdly. "Oh, are you two perhaps interested to make an alliance with me? It'd be useful to have two Blood powers in a group, anyways… Ah, Felipe, what's yours, by the way?"

"I can amplify sound waves using mine," the young man sighed. "No mean feat."

"Useful as a distraction," Kim said bracingly. Mei narrowed her dark eyes at this. "Anyways, where are your androids and Blood warriors?"

"Natalya and Peter are outside," Mei said coldly. "Natalya's mine, Peter belongs to Felipe-nii-sama. As to Blood warriors, I still don't have anyone. But Felipe-nii-sama…"

"Here's my Blood warrior," Felipe supplied, gesturing to the huge eagle perched on his arm. "It's a monkey-eating eagle. Rare enough as it is."

"A bird? How quaint!" Kim remarked sweetly, while Felipe just sighed. Mei, meanwhile, had her distrustful eyes tacked suspiciously on Kim, her young mind struggling to keep up with her elder's cunning.

"Have you any Blood warriors, Kim-nee-sama?" Mei asked in an innocent tone, making Kim turn to her.

"My Blood warrior is that treacherous Vampire," Kim said with a nasty laugh. Mei hated that laugh.

Three knocks sounded on the door and Michelle entered into the room, worried eyes fixed on her master. "Mademoiselle, we must hurry… Gilbert Beilschmidt may return at any given moment now…"

"Foolish Sheru-chan!" Kim let out another nasty laugh. "He is a useless person who will die just as soon as I stop giving him my Blood!"

* * *

><p>"You are very… how shall I say it? <em>Intrépide<em>?" Francis Bonnefoy chuckled as Feliks Łukasiewicz walked up to stand beside him, the scientist's eyes smug as he looked up at the tower. "You even went against the 'awesomest Vampire' himself, Gilbert Beilschmidt…"

"I'm, like, searching for a new sponsor, you know," Feliks exclaimed with his usual bubbly style. "And Kim of the Red Lotus is, like, Royalty, after all… Therefore, I can only assume that she has, like, an abundance of assets…"

Francis just smiled mysteriously.

"Anyways, it's all, like, thanks to you, Monsieur Bonnefoy," Feliks said sweetly, flipping his hair. "It's all right if you wouldn't, like, answer, but…" He sank his voice into a whisper. "Aren't you, like, one of Gilbert Beilschmidt's friends? _Best_ friends, at that? Then why—?"

"O _honhonhon_~" Francis smiled benignly at Feliks. "Tell me, what foolish little things do we do for the ones we think of the most~?"

* * *

><p>Arthur Kirkland gracefully leapt down to the ground, landing on his feet like a cat at the same moment that Gilbert suddenly changed tack and ran, the wind whipping his silver hair across his face at the tremendous speed.<p>

"Oi! Where's he going!" Antonio said, startled when the Vampire suddenly ran off. "He looked even paler than was usual…"

Arthur smiled widely. "Probably to the Golden Chrysanthemum, where else? Unless he did take heed of my advice and ran off to see to the princess that he had held captive? But who was I to know, anyways…"

"To the señorito? Wait, that's not good! He's got no one, except Matthew maybe… but that guy's human…" Antonio looked agitated. "We have to go home now!"

"He'll be okay," Arthur said certainly, looking up as the sky began lightening up inch by agonizing inch. "If he is alive, just as what our charming American idiot just told us, then it's alright to let Beilschmidt be."

* * *

><p>"I… can <em>die<em>?"

Gilbert Beilschmidt laughed madly as he sped forward to the direction of the house of the Golden Chrysanthemum, his eyes glinting with malice.

"And just because of a stupid reason like the _effects_ _of Kim-sama's Blood wearing off_?"

Gilbert lifted his lip in an enraged snarl.

"_Ridiculous_!"

The house, with the gentle burn of the lights behind the paper doors, looked like a beacon amidst the darkness as the Vampire finally reached the front gate and sending it crashing down the path as he entered. With triumphant strides, he walked up to the front door—

—And saw the silhouette of a young man who is considerably shorter than him through the paper.

Gilbert was about to have a fit when the calm voice on the other side declared, "You mayn't come inside, Beilschmidt-san."

_Scheiße_! Why… Why the fuck is he alive? Gilbert's mind was a whirl as the sun finally broke through the treetops and peeked, the rays slowly crawling up on the grass towards him.

"_Scheiße_… I ran out of time…!" Gilbert spared a squinting look at the lightening sky, and turned back to the door. "You'll pay for this dearly!"

"How foolish," the calm voice of Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum permeated through. "Why don't you go home to bed and _sleep_?"

An unpleasant shock ran up Gilbert's spine as he realized that he had forgotten about the princess. "Dammit!"

"Seems as if you'll go sleep _forever_, Beilschmidt-san," Kiku whispered eerily through the door, and at which Parthian shot he left the Vampire standing on his front doorstep, gawking at the door like someone who just realized that his life-raft had capsized.

* * *

><p>The sickening sound of a sword slicing through someone's gut permeated through the air, making the otherworldly vultures shriek at the promise of another feast.<p>

"I'll ask you once more, Bataar," the girl's quiet and deadly voice echoed through the emptiness of the darkening plain, warriors littering the vast expanse of soil. "_Where is Xiao Chun_?"

"I said I didn't know!" the young man sprawled beneath her screamed, as the cold metal thrusted deeper into his body. "Maybe he's in another world! He told me the last time that I saw him that he'll go and try to kill Kiku-nii-sama! _I don't know what became of him!_"

"Try to kill Kiku-nii-sama? That's just _stupid_!" the girl declared coldly as she delivered the final blow to her younger brother, ripping the sword out again to make him drop. "There, die slowly. There's no one to help you anymore, you filthy bastard of a brother."

And with a thinly-lipped smile, Xiao Chen of the Morning Lotus turned her back to her brother and whistled shrilly. A tall woman with short blond hair immediately appeared beside her, her yellow headband nondescript against the shiny locks.

"Let's leave, Katyusha," Xiao Chen murmured calmly. "Xiao Chun isn't here, unfortunately. Where's my Xun?"

"There," the female android said quietly, pointing into the distance.

The giant panda bounded into his master's presence as if it sensed the call. Due to its eagerness, though, it accidentally cut its foot on a stray blade that lay naked on the ground, but the messy wound began healing almost immediately.

"Try to be more careful next time, Xun," Xiao Chen sighed. "My Blood isn't going to last for long if you'll keep on cutting yourself against sharp edges accidentally…"

With a sigh, Xiao Chen mounted the panda's shaggy back and began to move westward, beginning their long journey to the weak point in this world that'll let them into the world where Xiao Chen suspected Xiao Chun is currently in.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Our pairings are coming off nicely! Sorry, no PruCan for the fans of that pairing… Sorrysorry…**

**Anyways. one-sided FrUK for the win? And we have amassed quite a number of OCs now… **_Gomen ne_**…**

**Gilbert is dead, but Bataar's fate is still quite uncertain… I still needed a villainous brother, you know…**

**Next chapter, we watch as Feliciano and Ludwig meet for the first time in this story! Oh, they still meet in a forest, but no tomato crates now… ***_winkwink_*****

**By the way, I'll be ready to post that USUK story any week now... our 70th reviewer'll get a dedication! :)) Instead of a gift fic, I'll just dedicate the story to whoever'll snag the place, coz I'm terribly busy and I don't think I'm up for another plot bunny attack. Lulz.**

**And I haven't posted for a long time because last week had been my birthday (I'm now sixteen! Whoop) and this week, the Philippines was hit by two typhoons one after another! SHITTY birth month!**

* * *

><p><strong>The Royal War<strong>: _Progress Chart_

_Eliminated siblings are marked with an_ [x]. _Those still alive are left blank. Uncertain deaths are marked with a_[U].

[ ] Yao of the White Peony/_China_(no kills)

[ ] Kim of the Red Lotus/_Vietnam_(no kills)

[ ] Kiku of the Golden Chrysanthemum/_Japan_(1 kill)

[ ] Felipe of the White Jasmine/_the Philippines_(no kills)

[x] Annan of the Golden Shower/_Thailand_(no kills)

[ ] Xiao Chun of the Purple Orchid/_Hong Kong_(no kills)

[ ] Xiao Chen of the Morning Lotus/_Macau_(uncertain kill)

[U] Bataar of the White Lotus/_Mongolia_(1 kill)

[x] Yong Soo of the Pale Sharon/_South Korea_(1 kill, first Blood)

[x] Eun Soo of the White Magnolia/_North Korea_(no kills)

[ ] Xiao Mei of the Plum Blossom/_Taiwan_ (no kills)

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Ludwig Beilschmidt makes a formal appearance, while Kiku and Alfred meets the cherry blossom that blooms in the snow...


	21. Kikuzakura

**_Zetsubou no Amai Kiss Shite?_**  
><em>(Won't You Give Me a Kiss of Despair?)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Last Chapter Summary<strong>:  
>The wheels are set in motion—Kiku successfully staves off the curse and marvelously lives, and Mei of the Plum Blossom and Felipe of the White Jasmine finally take their places on the stage. Meanwhile, a badly wounded Bataar of the White Lotus lies on the battlefield after a crushing blow from Xiao Chen of the Morning Lotus, who has a deadly mission at hand: to search for Xiao Chun for reasons kept to herself…<p>

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Warnings**: Violence, Language, Mentions of Blood, and Vampire!Germany… Need I say anything more? Oh, wait! A Fem!Japan also, by the way…

**Pairings**: AmeriPan. Black and White both.

**Genre**: Horror & Supernatural

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter<strong> Summary: Ludwig Beilschmidt finally makes his formal appearance, and something about those blue eyes strike a chord with Feliciano…  
>Meanwhile, Kiku and Alfred meet the 'cherry blossom that blooms in the snow', just as what a certain someone had just warned the prince…<p>

**Disclaimer**: I will never, ever own APH, guys and gals! All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Twentieth Drop of Blood<strong>:_  
><em>Kikuzakura<em>

* * *

><p>Alfred F. Jones was always finding himself in the devious schemes of his classmate Elizaveta Héderváry, and tonight was no exception. It had been snowing all afternoon and evening, and Elizaveta suddenly took it into her head to search for ghosts and stuff in the school. Alfred didn't know how come, out of all of Elizaveta's close friends, he was the one being dragged into these crazy plans, since he wasn't even that into urban legends and ghost stories. However, Lizzie seemed to take his every hesitation at an answer as a 'yes', and took the liberty to drag him in each of the shenanigans that she came up with.<p>

"And now…" Elizaveta held a flashlight in one hand, while in her other hand, she pulled Alfred along the dark corridor, their white uwabaki slippers pattering silently on the smooth tiles as they proceeded.

"There's the dry laboratory up ahead," Alfred noted dryly.

"Ooh!" Elizaveta let go of his hand and whipped out her camera from her randoseru bag (Alfred had no idea how she managed to hide that one since cameras are strictly prohibited inside the campus unless a permission letter had been acquired from their homeroom teacher) and began walking even more stealthily. "Have you heard about the urban legends at this school? Like that one about the piano in the music room playing all by itself? Or the anatomy dummy…" She gestured into the dark and silent dry lab, and Alfred felt like rolling his clear blue eyes behind his new rimless glasses. Matthew had readily bought him another pair after hearing his lame excuse about something like falling off the stairs and snapping the frame accidentally in two, but he could feel that somehow, his silent brother wasn't satisfied one way or the other. Alfred was just glad that he hadn't asked for the broken frames, or he'd have been in a real bind.

Anyway, there was this present situation with Elizaveta… Alfred badly wanted to get home immediately and drink some of that decaf coffee that Matthew just bought, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a weird sound that came from the inside of the dry lab.

"Eep!" Elizaveta dropped her flashlight when she heard the noise from the empty room, which made the electric torch strike the floor tiles heavily, its light going out as the meandering pair pressed themselves flat against the wall. Elizaveta's hand was shaking along with her camera, but Alfred could imagine her exhilarated smile through the darkness. Oh, shit… was the moon in its last quarter now…?

"I'm going to see my first ghost after this, Alfred Jones!" she whispered, the sound carrying neatly through the sudden eerie silence.

Then he heard Elizaveta gasp suddenly, as if in pain, and then a heavy thud as her unconscious body hit the floor—

After that moment, Alfred didn't know what occurred next, since the next memory he had was of a terrible blow on the back of his head (which wasn't even logical because their backs were pressed against the wall) and then finally of passing out.

* * *

><p>"Where is Alfred?"<p>

Kiku was already finishing up his breakfast the next morning when he just noticed the absence of his Blood warrior. Matthew gave him a nervous glance as he laid Kiku's customary after-breakfast tea, violet eyes darting from the steaming teacup to the smoldering eyes of the master of the house.

"He went back to school last night, but hasn't returned yet," the blond said worriedly, waiting for Kiku to take his first sip, but the prince just let the teacup sit on the tablecloth. "And he rarely goes home later than five before…!"

"He's been together all day with Elizaveta Héderváry yesterday, they looked as if they had been planning to do something," Arthur remarked with a lazy smile as he accepted the tea that Matthew placed before him with a murmur of thanks. "Maybe they're in an indecent relationship or something?"

"Fufu~" The titter from Kiku's throat sounded like water in a finely shaped glass. He finally took the cup in his hands and sipped at it. "_Sore wa bakage_."

Arthur smiled as he admired Kiku's dark blue kimono, which was patterned with delicate silver snowflakes for winter. The silver nagajuban peeked at the collar. "Oh, I haven't caught on what you've said, but clearly you're confident that Alfred is that sufficiently crazy over you to not cheat on you?"

"I merely told you that the idea of Alfred taking anyone out for a romantic walk under a nonexistent moon last night is ridiculous," Kiku said, finishing his tea up and smiling at Matthew indulgently for thanks. "However, the fact that he's strayed from me this long, unsupervised by any of you…" His formerly untroubled brow finally made a slight crease on his forehead as he scowled. "It's worrying me."

"You don't say, little prince," Arthur said with a triumphant smile.

"You go to the same school as him, ne, Arthur Kirkland?" Kiku said lightly to the Vampire as the latter stood up to go to school. "What can you say?"

"Well, the school has its own fair share of ghost stories," Arthur admitted, "but he's a Blood warrior, isn't he? He cannot be killed as long as your Blood permeates through his existence."

"Investigate further, won't you?" Kiku said monotonously, as Matthew carried the used dishes down to the kitchen. "I have a feeling that unless we do, Alfred is doomed to be stuck forever in the place where he was held captive, if my hunch was correct…"

"Oh, afraid of losing your only Blood warrior, are you, Kiku-sama?" And with that, Arthur Kirkland grabbed the blazer folded neatly beside him on the tatami and exited the dining room, leaving the prince deep in thought.

* * *

><p>"There's someone following us, aru."<p>

"Ve~! He's rather persistent, isn't he~?"

Yao of the White Peony stopped and glared at Feliciano, who just smiled his usual cute smile. "You knew all along and didn't even tell me?"

"I was waiting to see when he'll strike, ve~! It's just, we haven't seen something exciting ever since we rescued Lili!"

The Mermaid, who was walking alongside the Werewolf, gave him her little empty smile, making Feliciano laugh cheerfully and grin back. Yao sighed and continued walking.

"Just don't let him kill all of us, aru." And with those words, he moodily looked at Ivan Braginski, who smiled coldly and gripped his pipe tighter.

"Aye, aye~!"

The Vampire, however, startled at the conversation, had finally decided to throw all caution to the winds (they already knew that he was hanging around, anyway) and lunged at the throat of the Werewolf, who merely smiled and received the sudden blow so naturally that the Mermaid quickly ran up to hide behind Ivan, who was grinning broadly.

"As expected of the famed Vargas clan," Ludwig Beilschmidt said calmly as he returned Feliciano's heated glare with a cold stare while managing to lock their arms together. "Your speed does not disappoint."

"Waah~! A Beilschmidt!" Feliciano wailed, even as his canine teeth were growing and lengthening into fangs. "I expected a Vampire, but how come a Beilschmidt is here~?"

"Stop the helpless act!" Ludwig commanded coldly, forced to let go of Feliciano as the other transformed into a giant auburn wolf with amber eyes.

"He's right, comrade Vargas," Ivan Braginski said with a crazed grin, brandishing his iron pipe threateningly. "Otherwise he'll never get to enjoy this!"

The auburn Werewolf roared loudly, the sound echoing through the trees and making Lili jump, the Mermaid not having seen this side of Feliciano before.

Yao's golden eyes were narrowed and directed to the Vampire. "Take him alive, if you can!"

"Da, my postaraemsya," the Blood warrior said with a chilling tone, his violet eyes as hard as amethysts as the iron pipe suddenly transformed into a long, thin blade. "Torturing a Vampire is funner than killing him outright, razve ne tak?"

* * *

><p>"Missing students?"<p>

"Yes! They are all students who would go into the school at night and suddenly disappear!" The chatter of the girl at his elbow was annoying Arthur to no end, but since Kiku rarely asks favors of him (or of anyone else too, at that), the Vampire decided to endure it for the sake of the prince's polite request. "The lower classes are all talking about it!"

"I see," Arthur said with a convincing tone of interest. "And what of the culprit?"

The girl sank her voice into a whisper, prompting Arthur to smile blandly and lean closer to hear. Bollocks, when did he have to be such a flirt just to gather urban legends? If not for the desirable scent of Kiku's Blood—! "We think a ghost has been doing it… or something."

"I see," Arthur said yet again, an unsatisfied scowl on his face. Time for a little digging of his own tonight.

He was a Vampire, after all. And Vampires are indestructible in the dark.

Just then, another girl bumped him from behind. He turned around, about to open his mouth, but the young girl was already bowing and apologizing in hurried Japanese, giving him a clear amber gaze full of interest before running away, her long dark hair flowing behind her like a river. Arthur distinctly saw the glittering pin on her hair in the shape of a delicate Somei Yoshino blossom, five heart-shaped petals glistening like jewels.

* * *

><p>It was a silent new moon as Arthur, Antonio, Herakles, and Kiku stepped in the territory of the school. The grounds were eerily silent, and the snow that lay thickly on the ground made their progress hard as they proceeded. Kiku surveyed the leafless cherry trees all around the campus and frowned slightly, gripping the sleeve of his purple haori as the wind began to blow bitterly at the group.<p>

"Is Alfredo… really… here?" Antonio said with chattering teeth as the wind continued to blow.

"Well, that's what we're going to find out," Arthur said with a smile that grew when Kiku sighed and clenched his fists at the cold. "Ah, I thought Phoenixes are insensitive to cold?"

"You are quite forgetting that I'm not a Phoenix yet, Arthur Kirkland," Kiku said with a sarcastic tone.

Arthur merely laughed.

When they finally reached the comfortable coolness of the entrance hall, Antonio eagerly led them through the corridors, but as they reached their fourth empty hallway, the Werewolf was looking considerably bored.

"Are you sure we're not led here by something like a stupid rumor?" Antonio snapped at Arthur, who snorted.

"I do not like to repeat myself, but I did say that that's what we're going to find out," the Vampire snapped.

Kiku just walked behind the bickering pair in dignified silence, his dark eyes looking all around the place.

"…_Chotto_." Wait.

The warning, spoken in insistent Japanese, had come unbidden from the prince's lips, as his ears detected a faint, out-of-place sound from the word war unfolding before him.

"What?" Arthur had frozen in alertness, his vibrant green eyes darting as the faint sound got louder. "Wait… I think I can hear it… like leaves rustling against each other or some such…"

A light pink petal, in the shape of a distorted heart, fluttered gracefully down to the floor before Kiku's feet—

—And thus the mayhem began!

A huge darkly-colored branch tore up from the floor beneath them, and they all reacted instinctively. Herakles snatched Kiku out of harm's way as another branch burst through the ceiling and threatened to impale the prince. Antonio was able to deflect a meandering one with a mighty buffet from his paw, and Arthur was cleverly managing his way through the twisting branches as finally, the monstrous tree that just grew up in the midst of the school grounds out of freaking nowhere wrecked the whole side of the building and made the crushed pieces of concrete, metal and glass fall onto the ground four stories below.

"Herakles! Take the señorito and fucking RUN!" Antonio hollered as the sneaky branches (that Arthur just noticed were laden with largely proportionate cherry blossoms) managed to get ahold of him.

Luckily, the android didn't need to be told twice like the usual. The danger threatening the prince was stimulant enough for him to hightail it out of there.

* * *

><p>"How come I didn't smell or sense a honking Whomping Willow this huge!" Antonio screeched as he broke free of the branches' grip and managing to land in an awkward stance. The branches attacked again as one as Arthur grabbed his arm and launched himself into the air, half-dragging, half-carrying the surprised Werewolf into an undamaged hallway. "And where's the freaking knot, by the way?"<p>

"Stop the Harry Potter references, Werewolf git!" Arthur shouted as a stray branch destroyed the floor of this hallway next. "And I knew that we were taking this lightly, but—I—didn't think—that it would be—this much—bloody—trouble!"

"¡_Mierda_!" Antonio swore in annoyance as another found him and started to twist its way around his waist.

"I think I know why you can't sense its presence," Arthur panted as he helped the weary Werewolf out. "But—!"

* * *

><p>Kiku silently motioned for Herakles to stop when they reached a place wherein the tree branches seemed not to reach, and when the android had finally set him down, Kiku removed his haori and gripped it tightly until it emitted a snapping sound and began changing into a bare katana. When the transformation was done, Kiku's irises were an intimidating shade of red, but Herakles didn't bother to comment.<p>

Kiku walked along the dark corridor, the weapon in his hand carelessly dragging along the floor, his suddenly hypersensitive skin sensing the presence that was the center of it all.

"Whoever it is, it's here," he whispered, and Herakles understood.

Kiku casually opened a door on the end of the hallway, and stepped in calmly. At the very moment that the heel of his geta touched the tiled floor, Kiku immediately confirmed to himself that yes, this was where the culprit was hiding.

Herakles followed Kiku inside the dark classroom, and the door slid shut behind them of its own accord.

Kiku immediately knew that the school was situated in an isolated area tonight, and that this isolated area was located in a different world. Hell, maybe even universe.

Because inside, his geta sank in grass. And before him, a gigantic Shinto shrine was standing. A huge building that looked like something that you'll only see in ancient Yamato, but Kiku didn't want to elaborate on his thoughts further, because his attention was already drawn to the lone person kneeling on the front engawa of the said shrine.

It was a frail Japanese girl, seemingly in her teens, with dark ankle-length hair framing the sides of her pale face. She was wearing a deep lavender jūnihitoe with a pattern of yellow and light pink cherry blossoms, while a fresh cherry blossom was pinned on her hair, dewdrops still glistening like jewels. Kiku could count the twenty layers of her jūnihitoe, and decided that she would be very outmatched if ever she decided to make trouble all by herself.

Finally, she raised her fan, opened it, and covered the lower half of her face before letting the first words fall from her lips.

"I didn't think that I would see the young of a Phoenix at a place like this, de arimasu."

"Fufu. That goes for me as well." Kiku smiled lightly at the girl's archaic form of speech before proceeding. "You belong in the group which does not belong to the Kingdom."

"Ah~ Really~" The girl seemed interested. "You already know what my nature is, de arimasu ka?"

"Hai," Kiku replied politely, making a little bow of acknowledgement. "You are a Megami. A Goddess."

"Fu~" The girl stood up (Kiku smiled when he imagined the strength that that girl should possess to be able to do the feat in the heavy robes) and took away her fan, letting it stay open in her hand. "You are correct, de arimasu. I am Ko no Hana, the Goddess of flowers and the spring. With my title, maybe you could understand my partiality to cherry blossoms. They are the most loved flowers in Japan whenever spring arrives, de arimasu yo. With that reason, maybe call me Sakura instead."

"I think I can follow you," Kiku said pacifically, dark eyes meeting amber.

"What is your name, little one?" Ko no Hana, or Sakura, asked affably, the weight of the numerous layers of her sleeves finally succeeding in convincing her arms to drop.

"Kiku Honda," the prince answered. "I am the second son and third child of the Royalty."

"Oh, you're the third child? Isn't that supposed to be lucky?"

Kiku merely smiled his mysterious smile. Sakura took that as an expression of agreement and coyly brushed her bangs back from her forehead.

"Kiku Honda, hm? So I am the cherry blossom, while you are the chrysanthemum! What a queer coincidence, de arimasu…" Sakura waved her fan, and two bundles suddenly dropped down from nowhere. Kiku immediately recognized Alfred and guessed that the girl must be the Elizaveta that Arthur was talking about. "Well, you must be an autumn person then, de arimasu yo. To be named as such…"

"Ah, maybe," Kiku said lightly. "Thank you for preserving my Blood warrior… and his friend."

Sakura smiled. "I do not want to draw down the displeasure of the Royalty upon me by taking away the immortality of a Blood warrior, de arimasu. Likewise, I do not want to cause a rift between us, Kiku-san, just because of the longing that I had to take that girl as a sacrifice. She is your Blood warrior's friend, and as much as I want to kill her, I must refrain for peace." Sakura stood up. "Please, take them and leave freely, de arimasu." She seemed to debate with herself for a moment before finally adding, "Originally, we would stay in the mountains and eat the sacrifices offered by the nearby villages, de arimashou. In return, we protected the humans."

"But the tradition disappeared over time and you ended up here at this school. Right?" Kiku gently took Alfred's cracked glasses from his face and restored them to their former condition.

"I only need the minimum number of sacrifices, de arimasu," Sakura continued gravely. "The few lives who are lured here at the school every night when I cast the isolating seal are my only needs… and in return, I shall protect this school, de arimasu. By the Kingdom's standards, this is just a necessary operation to keep on living and is not a crime in itself. Right, Kiku-san?"

Kiku perched the glasses back on the bridge of Alfred's nose with a slight scowl directed at Sakura. "That's right. The Kingdom shall not interfere with you."

"That is a wise answer, coming from one so young, de arimasu," Sakura said with an ethereal smile. She waved her fan again, and Kiku could only assume that she had just banished the tree from the school. "I do not wish to fight."

* * *

><p>"But are you sure that you aren't going to erase her memory?"<p>

"Arthur-san, it's not really necessary to. Just stay out of sight. I'll sort this out by myself."  
>Elizaveta Héderváry came to with a start, and looked around blearily. Then she recognized her surroundings as a house which was built in the Japanese style, and fell back in surprise, her mouth hanging open.<p>

"Where am I?"

"Liz!"

"Alfred?" Elizaveta glared at the American who had been busy watching her face worriedly. "Where are we? Aren't we ghost hunting earlier?"

"Oh! Er, you fainted quite suddenly and I dunno where your house was, so I just brought you here at home," Alfred began making up quickly. Elizaveta frowned.

"So I did black out? I kinda remembered that my head suddenly hurt and then whoosh…" Elizaveta made a weird gesture, then, unfortunately, spotted Kiku, who was standing behind Alfred and was watching her rather uninterestedly.

"Ooh! Look, Alfie! What a cute doll!" Elizaveta said in extreme cuted-out-ness, eagerly pointing at Kiku (the prince was momentarily startled at the outburst, but thankfully did not say anything). Alfred, in extreme bewilderment, looked around at Kiku and snickered when he saw what the matter was.

"Ah, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am not a doll," Kiku told Elizaveta with a sardonic tone. "Anyways, Héderváry-san, my name is Kiku Honda. My hobby is to read the atmosphere and to be careful about the things that I say."

Alfred mentally face-palmed.

"Aww, he's soooo cute…" Elizaveta said, eyes glittering as she stared at Kiku. The prince was currently occupied in the matter of squeezing his long sleeves so tight that it must ruin the fabric. "Look, he's even shorter than me! Hi! Say hello to big sister!"

Kiku's sarcastic smile had rather strained at the slight on his height and age, so Alfred immediately ushered Elizaveta away before Kiku finds the time to snap or something. (Kiku had his hand on the scabbard of his sword, soooo…)

* * *

><p>Feliciano watched Ludwig with bright eyes as the Vampire glared at him, fiery amber meeting icy blue as they looked into each other's eyes. Yao had restrained the Vampire earlier with his eyes, and they had bound him all over with merciless wire. Well, Ivan reasoned, his struggling to get the wires wrapped around him will be an unlikely event, so Feliciano and Yao just agreed with the logic.<p>

Just then, with the growing awkwardness of the silence, Feliciano decided to speak up.

"Ve~ You've got very pretty eyes, haven't you~?"

Ludwig just stared back at him, stern blue eyes searching the Italian's cheery face. He tensed all over, though, when the Werewolf suddenly closed the gap between them with just a single bound, the Vampire cursing the ability of the Vargas clan members to amplify their speed and strength by many times their normal capacity. The result was their noses just an inch from bumping against each other.

"What will you do if I decide to add your eyes to my battle scrapbook~?" Feliciano whispered enthusiastically, a cheerful smile curling his lip. "You have killed many of my brethren, I can sense it… and isn't your elder brother the one who almost obliterated the Werewolf blood by killing a large number of my kin? What shall big brother do if I decide to cut out Luddy's big blue eyes, eh~?"

"You're crazy!" Ludwig hissed angrily, eying Feliciano's right hand as it came to rest on Ludwig's left cheek. The Vampire hissed at the heat, while Feliciano smiled at the cold.

"I'm not crazy, just thinking of a way to get even." Feliciano finally took his hand away and leapt back to his former position to squint at Ludwig's face. "But unfortunately, I'm not the one who'll get to sentence you. Yao of the White Peony is my master, and being a member of the Royal Family who despises all Vampires, you're extremely lucky if he decided to kill you with a single blow. If he decides to torture you first for information, well… I'm sorry for the word, ve, but you're screwed. Ivan always makes a very messy job."

"I would assume," the Vampire said stiffly, surprised at the sudden change of tone in the Werewolf's voice. "That Ivan… What is he, anyway? He doesn't smell… human."

"I dunno, but I'm afraid of him," was Feliciano's short reply. "Now please look the other way again, per favore? Yao-sama might see us…"

Ludwig kept silent at this and pressed his lips together, his line of sight never leaving the brightness of the open fire before him.

* * *

><p>"Eh, so he's the owner of this house? Woow…"<p>

Alfred had spent the last few minutes telling Elizaveta some very general ideas about Kiku, and the girl had taken it all like how a sponge takes in water.

"Yup, it's an inheritance from his parents or something…"

"Then they must be really rich!"

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Knock it off, Alfred." Then Elizaveta leaned in and whispered, "Although he's really so cute, now that I've come to think of it…"

"He's the kind of cuteness that kills," Alfred muttered sarcastically to himself, eyes looking out of the window. Luckily, Elizaveta seemed not to notice.

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><p><strong>AN: And now I've emerged from a year-long hiatus. If you can see from my avatar, I've gone and graduated from high school and that was the reason why I cannot write, apart from a thousand other personal problems. So now I'm going to be a college student in the oldest Catholic university in Asia! Haha, sounds too good to be true... Well, I'd understand if you guys lost all interest in this whimsical fic after a long slump, but I'm going to write now because I enjoy it. **

**Thank you for supporting this fic!**

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><p><strong>Next Chapter Summary<strong>: Alfred and Elizaveta get stuck in another ghost hunting case, this time in a train. However, the Blood warrior finally gets to be introduced to Yao of the White Peony, and also witnesses how fearsome the power of the eldest of the Royal siblings can be...


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